Ba Cum

The name of a deserted area between Cho Dem and the Ben Luc River, belonging to Long An province, along the river that runs from Cho Lon to Ben Luc. At the water’s edge, there are three large banyan trees, where passing boats often stop to rest, waiting because the waters are very crowded, so there are many thieves; hence it became famous as ‘Boi Ba Cum’.

After advising the people at Ben Luc, the Holy Master immediately went to Ba Cum, a place notorious for greed and theft. Upon arriving, He no longer spoke in verses, but disguised Himself as a girl selling fermented fish, with a simple and rustic appearance.

The market women at Ba Cum, relying on their cleverness, would use all sorts of tricks to pick on and boss others around. They used obscene words, cursing the honest. Seeing this, the Holy Master immediately made people and things disappear, causing the locals here to tremble in fear.

Oracle Vol I, Annotated Commentary (1975)

Between the two rivers Vàm Cỏ Đông and Sài Gòn, there is a connecting stretch of river. Because it is affected by the tides of both rivers, when the water flows downstream, boats travel easily; when the water flows upstream, boats anchor and wait for the favorable tide. Therefore, this section is always bustling with boats, lively with the scene of ‘on the wharf and below the boat’; surely everyone has heard of Bình Đông wharf.

At that time, around the mid-18th century, this stretch “still had many places dominated by warlords, pirate boats would gather to harass merchant vessels (in the past there were remnants of ‘Bối Ba Cụm’)”. Mr. Nguyễn Cư Trinh (one of the people who made the greatest contributions to this land) proposed many initiatives, establishing the practice of inspecting all boats, regardless of size, requiring the bow to display the owner’s name, birthplace, boat owner, and to record it with the local authorities for easy verification.

Speaking again about Ba Cụm, this is a small riverside village, now part of Tân Bửu commune, Bến Lức district, Long An province. This area, along with Chợ Đệm and Bình Điền, was severely troubled by bandits. There is a folk story from the South about ‘Bối Ba Cụm’, read for entertainment:

“The small, shabby boat was loaded. On it were many jars of golden brown sugar, the 20-liter kind, used for storing liquid sugar that locals call jar sugar. A man in his forties was rowing slowly, enjoying the scenery and looking for acquaintances to stop the boat and buy some groceries to cook dinner. At the bow of the boat was a stylish young woman in a bà ba top of Cam Cuong blue, and Mỹ A Tân Châu trousers, fashionable for the times, around twenty years old, graceful and sharp-featured. It was fashionable for merchants also to take their mistresses along to trade. The young woman was tired, lying half-asleep at the bow. The river breeze gently lifted her two flaps of the blouse, revealing her smooth white waist. The group of boys on the shore watched without missing a single detail. A youth clicked his tongue: “This girl is so hot, guys!” The younger boys shouted: “The boss only likes that stuff! We’re starving here!” “Grab some sugar to eat!” “I like those Mỹ A trousers more, then the boss can get a look inside the Mỹ A trousers!” The whole bunch laughed loudly. Then a younger boy whispered a plan. He leaped into the river. Somehow, the half-asleep, dreamy young woman screamed loudly

Source: https://phamtantri.com/dia-danh-ba-cum/