Subash Thebe Limbu

Ningwasum

In Ningwasum, Subash Thebe Limbu explores Adivasi Futurism, a concept he has developed over a number of years, inspired by the writings of Octavia Butler, Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, and various Adivasi, Janajati, feminist, queer, and Dalit movements. The video features an Indigenous, astronaut time traveller from the future, whose Indigenous nation not only co-exists with other nations and allies but also contains advanced technology that would appear magical to those from the present. 

Filmed mostly in the Himalayas, including the Wasanglung region in Eastern Nepal believed to be the shamanic home of the Yakthung, Ningwasum weaves oral narratives, animations, language, storytelling, soundscapes, and electronic music. It explores the notions of time, space, and memory, and how realities could differ from community to community, and person to person. The mothership featured in the film is based on a Silam Sakma, a ritual object commonly used and unanimously accepted as a symbol of identity among the Yakthung community of Nepal. As an installation, the work also includes Time Travellers, two astronaut suits that appear in the film, worn by the main character. Each suit has a wire structure inside and can be hung from the ceiling.