Engaging with traditional knowledge systems within decolonizing education often surfaces apparent contradictions: how do we value cultural wisdom that also contains elements incompatible with commitments to equity and justice? While frequently framed as an ethical dilemma - leading to unsatisfying choices between uncritical preservation or selective extraction - this paper argues that the very appearance of such contradictions often stems from the ontological assumptions (e.g. of fixity and separability) through which we approach these traditions. Viewing traditional knowledge, such as the Tamil Āthichūdi, through lenses that presume fixed meanings or separate knowledge from its material context can obscure its emergent nature, producing these intractable tensions. This paper proposes that a material feminist ontology offers a pathway beyond this impasse. Drawing particularly on Barad’s (2007) concept of ‘intra-action’, which understands reality and knowledge as emerging through specific material-discursive practices rather than existing as predefined entities, we can reengage with traditional knowledge systems not as static objects to be accepted or rejected, but as phenomena that is continually materializing in the present. This ontological shift transforms how we understand tradition itself and our relationship to it. Through a case study of the Āthichūdi, this paper explores how apparent contradictions are reconfigured through a material feminist lens, leading to a ‘pedagogy of liminality’. This approach allows children to participate in the ongoing materialization of knowledge, developing ontological agility to navigate complexity. This contributes to decolonial educational theory by emphasizing ontological awareness in creating more just and equitable learning environments for navigating an increasingly complex world.