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UID:pretalx-spathum24-YRFP7J@pretalx.com
DTSTART;TZID=CET:20240926T173000
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DESCRIPTION:About 5\,000 graves from the historical Bukit Brown and Seh Ong
  cemeteries (hereafter cemetery complex) in Singapore were exhumed in 2013
  to make way for an eight-lane carriageway. Prior to the exhumations\, gra
 ve inscriptions and features were documented digitally and geotagged using
  GPS\, and during the exhumations\, burial items were recorded comprehensi
 vely. The data collected through this extensive documentation work produce
 d a heritage inventory that could be dated (based on the inscriptions)\, m
 apped and spatially analysed. This paper seeks to reflect the socio-econom
 ic and cultural patterns associated with the graves\, and how they interse
 ct with the spatial-temporal development of the cemetery\, and to some ext
 ent\, the social history of Singapore.\n\nThe data for the heritage invent
 ory were collected under the auspices of the Bukit Brown Documentation Pro
 ject (BBDP) in 2011-2014 within a Geographic Information System (GIS) fram
 ework. At that time\, the Principal Investigator of the BBDP (also the fir
 st author of this paper) focused on completing comprehensive documentation
  of the graves and burial items that were unearthed through the exhumation
  process. This massive amount of geotagged data underwent systematic post-
 processing to facilitate rigorous analysis within a GIS framework. The pos
 t-processing and analysis included: (i) inscriptions\, and the structural 
 and material cultural features of graves\; and (ii) burial items. In addit
 ion\, historical context was supplemented through archival research and or
 al history interviews.\n\nFor (i) and (ii)\, post-processing involved furt
 her coding of the data for meaningful analysis\, following two major lines
  of inquiry\, namely\, the investigation of patterns among graves based on
  socio-economic status and Chinese sub-ethnic cultural categories. Where s
 ocio-economic status is concerned\, grave features and burial items were f
 urther coded to determine socio-economic status. In terms of Chinese sub-e
 thnic cultural categories\, inscriptions\, grave features and burial items
  were coded to reveal the sub-ethnic origins of the deceased (i.e. Hokkien
 \, Teochew\, Cantonese\, Hakka\, Hainanese and others). Furthermore\, spat
 ial analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between socio-eco
 nomic status/cultural origins and the distribution of graves in the cemete
 ry complex.\n\nThe dataset is of substantial heritage value\, not least be
 cause the cemetery complex in question consists of both Bukit Brown Cemete
 ry (BBC) and Seh Ong Cemetery (SOC). The former was opened as a municipal 
 Chinese cemetery in 1922 and closed to burial in 1973\, although it was al
 most fully populated by 1944 during World War 2. BBC was divided into five
  blocks of standard-sized plots organized into grids that faced the same d
 irection\, and the blocks were filled sequentially\, i.e. from Block 1 to 
 Block 5. The land for SOC was acquired\, partly as burial grounds reserved
  exclusively for Hokkien Ong clansmen\, in 1872. Burial in SOC followed th
 e conventions of clan association cemeteries\, whereby the size and locati
 on of the plot depended on the wealth and social standing of the deceased.
  The graves that were affected by the road project and thereby documented 
 happened to be distributed across SOC and all five blocks of BBC\, thus pr
 oviding an excellent sample of graves of different cultural and socio-econ
 omic origins from the late Qing dynasty period (late 19th and early 20th c
 enturies) to the early Republican period (after 1911) and World War 2.\n\n
 Through analysing this unique and extensive dataset\, the paper seeks to s
 hed light on the socio-economic patterns and cultural patterns in the land
 scape of the cemetery complex\, incorporating both the spatial and tempora
 l dimensions. The following are the key questions that the paper will addr
 ess.\n1. Socio-economic patterns\ni) In what ways does socio-economic stat
 us affect the distribution of graves in the cemetery complex. While it is 
 almost definite that socio-economic status determines the location of the 
 burial plot in SOC\, does socio-economic status play a role in BBC? More s
 pecifically\, would socio-economic status be reflected spatially\, given t
 he Chinese penchant for higher burial grounds in association with better f
 engshui (geomancy)?\nii) Would socio-economic patterns be temporally signi
 ficant? That is\, would there be certain periods\, such as the 1930s Depre
 ssion and the onset of the World War 2 years\, where socio-economic status
  or wellbeing\, as reflected by graves and burial items\, would take a gen
 eral dip?\n2. Cultural patterns\ni) Beyond the common sub-ethnic cultural 
 categories\, i.e. Hokkien\, Teochew\, Cantonese\, Hakka and Hainanese\, ar
 e there other cultural categories that salient through the material cultur
 e of the cemetery\, such as Peranakan?\nii) Are there spatial patterns in 
 how the cultural groups are distributed in the cemetery complex?\niii) In 
 what ways do these cultural categories affect inscriptions\, grave feature
 s and burial items?\n\nThe post-processing of the dataset and examination 
 of the above questions propel the study beyond conventional epigraphic ana
 lysis to provide sociological and cultural analyses of a deathscape\, thus
  furnishing us with a more holistic understanding of the heritage value of
  the historical cemetery complex. At the same time\, it extends GIS-relate
 d mapping and analysis of cemetery data in recent years beyond gravestone 
 morphology to incorporate material culture related to both aboveground fea
 tures and underground artifacts.
DTSTAMP:20260314T224041Z
LOCATION:MG1 00.04 Hörsaal
SUMMARY:Mapping and Spatially Analysing the Heritage Inventory of a Histori
 cal Cemetery Complex in Singapore - Yew-Foong HUI
URL:https://pretalx.com/spathum24/talk/YRFP7J/
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