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Contribution short abstract:

The paper attempts to look at the entanglement of unwriting, humour, hegemony and oral narratives against the backdrop of the complex called Teyyam and the oral narratives related to it, Totam of North Malabar, Kerala, India.

Contribution long abstract:

The paper tends to take up the task of unwriting in light of the complex called Teyyam and the oral narratives related to it, totam. Teyyam is a cyclical, cultural and ritual complex of North Malabar of Kerala nestled in the southwest of India. The complex, intricate to the socio-cultural milieu of the region, known for its lore and looms critique the societal hegemonies grappling with power dynamics, identity and agency. A diverse and artistic intervention, the complex involves apotheosis and unwrites to call for understandings of inclusion, blurring boundaries on various levels. The complex unwrites through humour and transformation, literally and figuratively more-than-human, even in perspectives. Drawing on theoretical considerations spanning across disciplines, the entanglement of unwriting, humour, hegemony and oral narratives would be looked into.