Muhammad Thalal, Husaini Ibrahim, Asnawi Muslem, Effendi Hasan, T.M. Jamil, Yusri Yusuf
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. Copyright © 2026 Thalal, Ibrahim, Muslem, Hasan, Jamil and Yusuf.
Department of Social Science Education, The Graduate School, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Department of Islamic History and Civilization, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Department of History Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Department of Indonesian Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
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