Erasing the past, redesigning the nation: toponymic change, heritage signage, and contested memory in Indonesian public space

Eka Fitri Hastuti

doi:10.67490/ijls.v1i2.899

Authors

Eka Fitri Hastuti Universitas Wira Buana Metro Lampung Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.67490/ijls.v1i2.899

Keywords:

collective memory, contested heritage, heritage signage, memory politics, toponymic change

Abstract

Background: Public space has increasingly become a strategic arena where historical narratives, cultural identities, and political authority are negotiated through spatial symbols, commemorative practices, and heritage representation. Objective: This study investigates how toponymic change and heritage signage participate in the production, reinterpretation, and contestation of collective memory within Indonesian public space. Method: This study employs a qualitative corpus-based design integrating critical toponymy, multimodal heritage signage analysis, and memory politics, drawing on official naming documents, heritage signage materials, visual identity artefacts, policy texts, and contextual reports. Results: Findings indicate that commemorative renaming primarily functions as a mechanism for re-inscribing nationally preferred historical narratives into everyday spatial environments. Heritage signage further reinforces these narratives through multimodal combinations of language, visual symbolism, institutional branding, and spatial design that shape public interpretation of the past. Implication: At the same time, memory is not simply preserved or erased; rather, public space emerges as a site where historical meanings are selectively amplified, reinterpreted, and negotiated across competing scales of identity and heritage. Novelty: The novelty of this study lies in integrating critical toponymy, multimodal heritage signage, and memory politics into a unified analytical framework that explains how spatial naming and visual heritage infrastructures jointly contribute to the redesign of national historical consciousness.

References

[1] T. Panjaitan, D. Pojani, and S. Darchen, “The transformation of public space production and consumption in post-reformation Indonesian cities,” City, Culture and Society, vol. 31, p. 100444, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ccs.2022.100444.

[2] K. McClymont, “The fall of statues? Contested heritage, public space and urban planning,” Planning Theory & Practice, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 767–795, 2021, doi: 10.1080/14649357.2021.1995255.

[3] D. A. Jelinčić and J. K. Reap, “Contested heritage or cancel culture? The case of Ivan Meštrović’s public sculptures in Chicago,” Heritage, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 2194–2209, 2022, doi: 10.3390/heritage5030142.

[4] U. Schaper and D. Lerp, “Layers of memory: Monuments, memorials and the (de)colonisation of public space in Germany,” Journal of Modern European History, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 357–377, 2025, doi: 10.1177/16118944251348775.

[5] B. Williamson, “Historical geographies of place naming: Colonial practices and beyond,” Geography Compass, vol. 17, no. 5, 2023, doi: 10.1111/gec3.12687.

[6] N. N. Benu, B. A. Sudarmanto, T. Wahyuni, D. Susilastri, E. Rosita, A. Mahmud, and S. Yono, “The culinary linguistic landscape of Kupang City, Indonesia: Unraveling identity through sign boards,” Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol. 12, no. 1, 2025, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2025.2449735.

[7] K. W. Purnawati, K. Artawa, M. S. Satyawati, and I. Kardana, “Unveiling communication strategies through public space signs: A linguistic landscape study in Badung Smart Heritage Market, Bali-Indonesia,” Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol. 12, no. 1, 2024, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2024.2444045.

[8] S. L. Ding, “Collective memory and identity of a rebranded ‘Chinatown’,” International Journal of Heritage Studies, vol. 29, no. 12, pp. 1265–1281, 2023, doi: 10.1080/13527258.2023.2244921.

[9] R. Harrison, A. Rose, and C. Sterling, “Ghosts of solid air: Contested heritage and augmented reality in public space,” International Journal of Heritage Studies, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 425–443, 2024, doi: 10.1080/13527258.2024.2437367.

[10] C. Shen, Y. Zhu, and X. Wang, “Reinterpreting colonial heritage in urban spaces: Memory politics and urban regeneration in China,” International Journal of Cultural Policy, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 668–693, 2025, doi: 10.1080/10286632.2025.2510646.

[11] M. Nazaruddin, “Contestations of cultural memory at a disaster monument: The case of the Aceh Tsunami Museum in Indonesia,” Social Semiotics, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 560–579, 2021, doi: 10.1080/10350330.2021.1900721.

[12] M. Martina, A. Duli, M. A. Armin, N. Darheni, K. Katubi, S. Sariah, R. Nurfaidah, E. Budihastuti, I. W. Nitayadnya, and D. Sutrisno, “Cartographies of meaning: Toponymic language reconstruction of socio-cultural narratives in an Indonesian urban context,” Forum for Linguistic Studies, vol. 7, no. 6, 2025, doi: 10.30564/fls.v7i6.9566.

[13] S. M. Fitriyah and S. Adu-Gyamfi, “Garuda myth-based toponym as a portrait of Indonesian cultural activities in the Solon years,” Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol. 11, no. 1, 2024, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2023.2299533.

[14] S. Sunarti, A. Iswanto, D. P. Utomo, Y. Niken, R. Hendra, N. Syahrul, D. Hidayatullah, H. S. Fadlly, A. Mulyanah, A. Restyadi, N. Rusnandar, I. M. Budiasa, M. Rosadi, and A. Farida, “Toponymic approach to bicycle lane naming in Indonesia's new capital: Merging local language and cultural heritage,” Forum for Linguistic Studies, vol. 7, no. 8, 2025, doi: 10.30564/fls.v7i8.9778.

[15] T. Adams, “Vernacular de-commemoration: How collectives reckon with the past in the present,” Memory Studies, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 1363–1377, 2023, doi: 10.1177/17506980231176041.

[16] S. Webster, “Revisiting memoricide: The everyday killing of memory,” Memory Studies, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 1408–1428, 2023, doi: 10.1177/17506980231184564.

[17] M. Huss, “Jaffa's contested heritage trails: Using city walking tours to study, affirm, and protest the politics of space and memory,” Political Geography, vol. 107, p. 102998, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102998.

[18] M. Posso-Yépez, M. Hernández-Martínez, G. Arciniegas-Romero, and M. Posso-Astudillo, “Public sculptures as heritage agents in contested urban spaces: A systematic review of identity, memory, and resignification,” Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol. 12, no. 1, 2025, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2025.2603405.

[19] U. Demaj, “Constructing national identity in the public space: The discursive transformations of the semiotic-linguistic landscapes of Pristina, Kosovo,” National Identities, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 191–214, 2022, doi: 10.1080/14608944.2022.2089643.

[20] H. Aini, “Visualizing identity: Linguistic landscapes and ethnolinguistic signage in Indonesian multicultural neighborhoods,” Indonesian Journal of Language, Space, and Visual Arts, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 51–60, 2026.

[21] N. Lim, E. Melini, A. Zulkarnain, and K. M. Suwanto, “Visual identity redesign of the Gelora Bung Karno Complex,” Ultimart: Jurnal Komunikasi Visual, vol. 18, no. 1, 2025, doi: 10.31937/ultimart.v18i1.4193.

[22] P. A. Andini, “Multimodal representation of environmental messages in Indonesian eco-murals,” Indonesian Journal of Language, Space, and Visual Arts, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 21–30, 2026.

[23] R. Pahlawan, “Language of typography in political posters: Visual rhetoric in Indonesian electoral design,” Indonesian Journal of Language, Space, and Visual Arts, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 41–50, 2026.

[24] S. Sumartojo, “National identity and commemorative space: Connections to the nation through time and site,” Landscape Review, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 7–18, 2023.

[25] H. Aini, “Visualizing identity: Linguistic landscapes and ethnolinguistic signage in Indonesian multicultural neighborhoods,” Indonesian Journal of Language, Space, and Visual Arts, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 51–60, 2026.