Citation: Agbeye Oburumu (2023). The Trickster Archetype in Oral Literature: Unravelling Universality and Pedagogical Power across World Cultures. Saudi J. Humanities Soc Sci, 8(9): 240-247. 240 Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Abbreviated Key Title: Saudi J Humanities Soc Sci ISSN 2415-6256 (Print) | ISSN 2415-6248 (Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com Original Research Article The Trickster Archetype in Oral Literature: Unravelling Universality and Pedagogical Power Across World Cultures Agbeye Oburumu 1* 1 Department of English and Communication Art, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria DOI: 10.36348/sjhss.2023.v08i09.001 | Received: 11.07.2023 | Accepted: 14.08.2023 | Published: 03.09.2023 *Corresponding author: Agbeye Oburumu Department of English and Communication Art, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria Abstract This paper delves into the intricate character of the trickster as portrayed in oral literature while conducting a comprehensive survey to explore the universality of this intriguing figure across diverse world cultures. The investigation draws inspiration from Carl Jung's proposition that these archetypal manifestations in cultural and religious literature stem from the "collective unconscious," a profound thread of consciousness connecting all human beings and societies worldwide. The essay emphasises the distinctiveness of each trickster's personality within their respective cultures while also highlighting the common traits shared among all tricksters. Typically perceived as an entertainer, teacher, judge, and sage, the trickster embodies both humorous and serious aspects of life, encompassing a wide range of roles from rewarding to punishing. Furthermore, the study asserts that the trickster character goes beyond being a mere fictional element in oral literature; rather, it serves as a powerful tool for pedagogy and satire. The study advocates for the deliberate collection and documentation of folktales. These tales serve as valuable raw materials for future research, offering insights into the cultural intricacies and shared human experiences across the globe. Keywords: Trickster, Oral Literature, Archetypes, Carl Jung, Collective Unconscious. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original author and source are credited. INTRODUCTION Trickster tales feature a clever, devious animal or character whose pranks usually cause trouble for another character. In most instances, the trickster goes away gloating and unpunished, though in some tales there is a turnabout and the trickster falls prey to the mischief he started. The trickster figure is found all over the world. Sometimes, this figure is either creative or subversive. They are mischievous, cunning, and humorous and usually have the ability to switch between animal and human form. Almost all traditional cultures tell stories featuring specific tricksters. For example, coyotes, hares, and ravens are the featured tricksters across North America. African trickster stories star Tortoise, Anansi the Spider, Zomo the Hare (African storytellers brought the latter to America, where it was integrated with the native American hare, eventually becoming Bre’r Rabbit), or Eshu, the mischievous messenger of the gods in Yoruba (Nigeria) mythology. In Japan, tricksters are Badger, Tengu, mischievous trickster spirits, and Kitsune, a shape- shifter. In Europe and South and Central America, the trickster can be a Fox or Wolf. In Norse mythology, Loki is the trickster. Greek mythology has Hermes as its hero. Of course, there are more in other cultures. In searching for the trickster’s origins, many, including the famous psychologist Carl Jung, dealt with the question of the origin of the trickster’s character and his animalistic side. In picaresque tales, in carnivals and revels, in sacred and magical rites, and in man’s religious fears and exaltations, this phantom of the trickster haunts the mythology of all ages. He is obviously a "psychologem", an archetypal psychic structure of extreme antiquity. Jung's archetypal psychic structure as a type of personality that existed at the dawn of mankind, according to Jung, exists even today, but it is hidden and suppressed in the subconscious. It is revealed through irrational and senseless behaviour when it seems as if man has two minds: the mind of modern man and the animal mind. The emergence of ambiguities, or two- mind games, is well known among the tricksters of African mythology. All tricksters, such as Anansi, Esu, Legba, and Ogo-Yurugu, possess the power of two-