Trope, text and context in Nyadodo of the Ewe of Ghana.

Abstract

The study on nyadodo has been motivated by the conviction that apart from the well known oral artistic genres of the Ewe, nyadodo texts also provide a lens into the oral literature and values of the people. Looking closely at nyadodo texts by the use of literary tools, the study revealed a beauty of language whose quality is enhanced through tropes that are drawn from the people’s physical environment as well as their social and biographical experiences. The study discusses nyadodo as a genre that shares some micro and macro elements with other oral genres of the Ewe, even though it has a unique structure of attribution. The study collected a number of nyadodo texts and employed rhetorical-sociolinguistics, a composite analytical tool, for data analysis. The result revealed various levels of meaning and a delineation of typology of referents. Further, the analysis showed an interlocking of aspects of Ewe world view, its socio-cultural norms and values in the tropes. The study concludes that the Ewe use nyadodo to interrogate life, examine character and to guide members to live a responsible life. Further investigations into other aspects of nyadodo such as author delineation, cross-cultural study and gender forms are recommended.