The story of a bird that cries a nun’s tears
One day, a little French boy on vacation with his parents in Ba Be National Park saw a Grand Coucal (Greater Coucal or Crow Pheasant, in English – Centropus sinensis, in books). Having never seen such a bird, he asked me for its name and its story. Since this cuckoo is found all over Vietnam, especially in Ba Be, and has great symbolic importance in Vietnamese folklore, I decided to tell the little boy the following story.
Ba Be, a destination for the whole family
The Grand Coucal, which the Vietnamese call “Bìm bịp lớn,” is a large bird from the cuckoo family with shiny black plumage and coppery brown wings. Known for its deep, resonant cry, it is common in rural areas. It is found in various habitats in Vietnam, from jungles to urban gardens. What distinguishes a coucal from a cuckoo is that, unlike the latter, the coucal does not parasitize broods, but rather proves to be a model parent.
Ba Be National Park, rich in biodiversity, is home to about 220 species of birds, including the Grand Coucal.
The little boy listened to me, silent, his head slightly bowed.
Once upon a time, the Bìm bịp lớn was born
For an unknown reason, a young, noble, and pious woman decided to shave her head and become a nun. She went on a pilgrimage to the West in search of the Buddha.
On her way, she had to face many trials. The Buddha, impressed by her devotion, tested her by disguising himself as a beggar and asking for the only little bag of rice she had. She gave it to him willingly. Deeply moved by her gesture, the Buddha offered her four sutras to recite in case of danger and for good luck.
Later, the nun got lost in a dark forest and found refuge in a hut, which turned out to be the lair of a serpent-sorceress, a python named “mụ Trăn,” and her son, both ready to devour her. By reciting the prayer, she managed to frighten them away. The python’s son, feeling guilty after hearing her sermons, asked her to offer his heart to the Buddha. The nun accepted, but after several days of travel, the heart rotted, and she threw it into the bushes because of its foul odor.
Exhausted and at the end of her strength, she finally reached the Buddha’s kingdom, where she was told that the gates of paradise would only open if she presented the promised heart as an offering. Unable to turn back, she began to cry and was transformed into a bird by a Bodhisattva so that she would never be tired again.
Since then, the bird with a black head like her nun’s hat, red eyes like her tears, and a brown body like her clothes, flies in search of the heart. It constantly cries “Tội nghiệp! Tội nghiệp!” (Pity! Pity!), which gave it its name, Bìm Bịp.
The Ba Be region, a land of mystical legends, echoes with the widow’s tears and the plaintive cry of the Grand Coucal, transmitting, to those who can hear, the message of Vietnamese oral tradition that birds are often messengers or transforming souls.
The little boy listened to me with bright eyes, then with a slight smile and without a word, he left to join his parents who were calling him.