Cemeteries as method: unearthing a “history from below” through Gurkha graves in Malay(si)a

By critically examining cemeteries as both an archival source and ethnographic site, this article offers an expanded understanding of ‘deathscapes’ beyond their function as resting places for the deceased. Focusing on Gurkha cemeteries that emerged during the decolonization period (late 1940s–1960s), it conceptualizes cemetery spatiality as a dynamic assemblage of texts. Tracing Gurkha graves from Singapore to Sungai Petani against the backdrop of empire and transnational soldiering, this study foregrounds cemeteries as method – revealing how they illuminate the intersections between (a) gender, family, and community; (b) culture and religion; and (c) the politics of historical memory and (non)coloniality. By reading against the grain of gravestones, the article disinters the buried histories and epistemologies surrounding often-overlooked Nepali Gurkha families. In doing so, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between soldiering, sociality, and subalternity. Presenting a ‘history from below’, it seeks to highlight how these cemeteries not only memorialize men, women, and children whose lived experiences are often marginalized but also vividly expose the contradictions and ambivalences of the post/colonial condition.