Buried but unforgotten: nested-contentious memory of the 1955 Pulot-Cot Jeumpa massacre in Aceh, Indonesia

This article explores the 70-year history of the 1955 Pulot-Cot Jeumpa massacre in Aceh, Indonesia, through the theoretical framework of nested-contentious memory. Adopting a micro-historical approach, the study triangulates archival analysis with oral history interviews involving nine participants, comprising four direct eyewitnesses and five descendants. The findings demonstrate a stalemate between the official state narrative of counter-insurgency and the vernacular memory of a massacre of civilians. The research reveals that the community preserves this contentious memory through unconscious history and cultural filtering, specifically by reframing victims as syuhada (martyrs) to process trauma. Furthermore, the study identifies that this memory has recently migrated from the physical ruins of neglected mass graves to digital spaces, where it functions as postmemory for the younger generation. The research concludes that the state’s policy of forgetting failed to erase the vernacular memory, proving that nested-contentious memories persist by adapting to new social and digital environments.