Bintu

I was having a conversation with my mom the other week and she said I have never written about Bintu. Bintu is my alternate ending here in Mali. All Malians call me by the name of Bintu, with the exception of my homologue who will call me by Michele sometimes. It’s a common thing to do here in West Africa, give a guest a local name. I guess it’s a way to welcome people into their culture. And also, most village Malians cannot say my real name, it kind of sounds like Me-Shar-ee, when they say it, so Bintu’s just easier. Thus everyone knows me as Bintu, little kids are always yelling it at me “Bintu, Bintu, na na!” (Bintu has come).Oh yeah, I also have a last name, Sogodogo. Everyone laughs when they hear that name because it’s not a very common name and they think it’s funny that I have it. But everyone in my village is a Sogodogo, so I naturally became one too. Sogodogo literally means, hidden meat or little meat, depending on who you ask (dang Coulibalys).