PERFORMATIVE ARCHIVES: EMBODYING MEMORY, ENVIRONMENT, AND SPIRIT IN INDIA’S INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS
ShodhKosh Journal of Visual and Performing Arts March 27, 2026 Nidhi Vats
In India, indigenous knowledge systems are complicated epistemic worlds that are difficult to translate into textual archives or codified information. This paper suggests that this kind of knowledge is preserved through embodied practices: ritual healing, martial movement, artisanal labour, ecological stewardship, and spirit-mediated communication, which serve as living archives. It uses...