Sacred Ground, Contested Space: Deathscapes in the Aftermath of an Environmental Disaster in East Java, Indonesia

This study explores the sociocultural, economic, and symbolic significance of graveyards – conceptualized as deathscapes – among survivors of the Lapindo mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java. Drawing on ethnographic engagement and qualitative interviews, the research reveals how graveyards serve not only as burial sites but also as spaces of memory, resistance, and identity. Survivors attach multifaceted values to these spaces: functional (as burial grounds), economic (as assets negotiated through purchasing power), and symbolic (as sites of cultural resilience and protest). In some cases, deathscapes can transform into enduring symbols of resistance against displacement and contested compensation policies. By applying David Graeber’s anthropological theory of value, the study demonstrates that space is never singular in meaning but constantly redefined through socio-political and cultural practices. These findings contribute to urban political ecology and the anthropology of value by highlighting how disaster survivors negotiate socio-spatial justice through the preservation and reinterpretation of sacred spaces.