This study examines the linguistic and cultural characterizations of Badɛre, the spider, a central trickster figure in Dagaare folktales. Drawing on selected oral narratives, the study explores how language is used to construct Badɛre’s multifaceted persona as cunning, deceptive, humorous, and at times morally ambivalent. The analysis focuses on the lexical choices, and rhetorical devices employed by storytellers to depict Badɛre’s actions and social roles within the community. Adopting a discourse-analytic and ethnopragmatic approach, the study shows that Badɛre’s characterization is not static but dynamically shaped by context and audience expectations. The spider emerges as both a culture hero and a social critic, whose transgressive behavior simultaneously entertains and instructs. Through deception, wit, and manipulation, Badɛre exposes social norms, power relations, and communal values, thereby functioning as a vehicle for moral reflection and social regulation. The study contributes to broader discussions in African oral literature and linguistic anthropology by demonstrating how character construction in folktales encodes cultural knowledge and ideology. It also highlights the importance of indigenous narrative traditions in understanding the interplay between language and culture in African societies.
Dr. Hasiyatu Abubakari (Project PI) is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Language, Literature and Drama Unit at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. Her research spans the intersection of linguistics, literature, Indigenous Knowledge Studies, and environmental humanities, with more focus on Mabia languages and cultures.
Dr. Alexander Angsongna (Project Co-PI) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Lecturer in the Department of African Studies (Linguistics & Literatures), University of Vienna. His work focuses on linguistics, with particular interests in morphophonology, syntax, language and politics, and the interface between linguistics and biodiversity. He is also a Research Fellow under the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences: CIPSH–UG Legon Chair on Linguistics and Biodiversity.
Dr. Rahaina Tahiru (Project Co-PI) is a Senior Assistant Registrar and a part-time lecturer at the Department of Communication, Innovation, and Technology of the University for Development Studies (UDS). She has a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Ghana. Her academic areas of interest include gender, culture and development and the influence of gendered attitudes on violence in young adults’ intimate relationships.
Funding: This talk falls under the AfricaUninet Research Project No. P115_Ghana titled: Sustainable gender equality, diversity and social inclusion education through oral Narratives in Mabia Cultures of Ghana (S-GEDS) with funding from OeAD-GmbH – Agentur für Bildung und Internationalisierung