Names

Last week, I started collecting and grading homework for the first time. That sucked, because I had to grade about 160 papers at a time, and also because it made me realize how many people were falling through the cracks. Anyway, handing papers back was a joke because I had to read everyone's names out, and I just don't know what to do with a first name like Maneguedibkeita. (I'm pretty sure that's what the name was. Students tend to have messy handwriting and I don't have a printed list of all the names in my class, so it's just a guess.) There was a lot of laughing.

Anyway, I discovered some interesting things about names here. Last names I already knew about--about a third of all my students are named Ouedraogo, pronounced Wedraogo, don't forget to roll that r, which means "stallion" and is a common name among the Mossi ethnic group. Similarly, there are several named Sawadogo, which means something about being the person who brings rain. Other common names include Nikiema, Kinda, Sore, Barry, and Sissaogo, among others.

The first names were more interesting. Most notable was the girl named Noaga, which is Moore for "chicken." Why would you name your daughter chicken? Apparently mothers are not supposed to kill any animal while pregnant, because custom says that you should never take and give life at the same time. If a mother kills an animal while pregnant, she has to name her child after that animal or else it will die while it's still a baby. I asked my Moore tutor what happens if the mother kills multiple animals while pregnant (would her kid be named chickenandgoat?) but she didn't seem amused.

There were also a number kids named Larba, Lamoussa, and Sibri/Sibdou. Larba means "born on a Wednesday," Lamoussa Thursday, and Sibri/Sibdou Saturday (male/female versions of the name, respectively; other days of the week don't differentiate between genders). Sometimes I tell people my name is Sibdou because I moved to village on Saturday. But sometimes it confuses them because the other volunteer near my site, Katie, also moved here on a Saturday and tells people she is Sibdou. They mix us up frequently because all white people look alike (granted, we're both the same height and wear glasses, so, I guess that's confusing), but maybe it's better for them if they can just yell Sibdou for either of us and later on pretend they knew who they were talking to.

A sampling of other boys' names includes Moussa, Souleymane (how many Souleymane Ouedraogos are in my village? so many), Ali, Mohamadou, and Iliass. Girls' names include Awa, Rasmata, Alimata, Aminata, and other more familiar names like Mariam, Marie, Lydie, and Edith. But then, there are the names like Maneguedibkeita. Or Rimzinigdou. Or Wendingnolside. What do you do with those names? Do those kids actually go by that name in casual conversation? "Wend" means God, so sometimes it pops up in names meaning things like "God's grace" or "Force of God," etc. I'm convinced they're just there to mess with me though.

What I find amusing is that my school principal refers to other teachers as "Mr. Ouedraogo" and "Mr. Sawadogo." I think there are 4 Mr. Ouedraogos among the teaching staff, and 2 or 3 Mr. Sawadogos. Meanwhile we all have unique first names. He refers to me by my first name. I just don't understand.