The conceptualization and application of ‘adwene’ in Akan customary jurisprudence

Abstract

This study analyzes the linguistic and conceptual role of adwene (a judicial concept) in Akan judicial discourse. Using transcripts collected from 10 Akan Native Courts in Ghana and working within Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Framework (CMF), the paper explores how interpretations of adwene are used to construct and understand participants’ intentions, stance, and worldview regarding justice, legality, morality, and social acceptability within Akan judicial practice and jurisprudence. The findings reveal that the term adwene is structurally conceptualized and interpreted by participants through multiple distinct, yet interconnected, conceptual categories: thought, brain/mind, wisdom, and integrity. Participants’ verbal argumentations and evaluative commentaries on testimonial narratives demonstrably illustrate the functions of these conceptualizations in managing accountability and culpability within the legal discourse. In conclusion, this research explicitly establishes the systematic interface between cognition, as mediated by the conceptualization of adwene, and linguistic behavior among judicial interlocutors. The study posits that participants’ legal and social actions are fundamentally grounded in and dependent upon the established cultural and judicial understanding of adwene. Consequently, a deeper understanding of the conceptual metaphors and usage patterns associated with adwene is crucial for elucidating how judicial participants construct and interpret their judicial ecology and, ultimately, shape customary legal practice.