The video work Mangdem’ma and the accompanying handloom textile SAAM LINGMAA — both invocations for the healing of Adivasi spirits and lands — narrate the story of the Yakthung Indigenous people and present a counter-narrative to their record in history. The artworks weave together ancestral voices, drawing from the spiritual and cultural canon of the Yakthung people, the Mundhum.

Against a backdrop of geopolitical wreckage, the works question postcolonial nation-states and explore the mechanisms of controlling and surveilling land in contrast to Indigenous claims of space, time and mobility. Rooted in a long, rich oral tradition it incorporates elements such as bootleg audiobooks, indie albums and films, family interviews and ritual chants.

Return to TAMBA