Abstract
Deathscape is a multidimensional place as it serves as a microcosm reflecting larger social, political, and economic realities. Further, it is considered as a semiotic space, composing various linguistic codes that are formally or semantically formed. With this, the present study analyzed the 521 epitaphs from Sta. Barbara Public Cemetery in the Philippines Through the Place Semiotic Framework proposed by Scollon and Scollon (2003) and Van Gessep’s (1909) concept of liminality. Based on the analyses, the researchers conclude that cemeteries function as sites for identity reconstruction through their intertwining elements, such as materiality placements, and symbolism. These elements serve as indices of the communal root and values, socioeconomic status, and emotional entanglement between the dead and the living. Generally, more advantaged families seek more elaborate grave markers, whereas simpler ones reflect socioeconomic constraints, which, in turn, deduce social hierarchies even in the context of death. Meanwhile, permanent symbols such as religious icons, architectural and linguistic entities, inscriptions, and temporal elements, such as flowers, reflect profound cultural and spiritual values, representing memory’s transcendence and persistence. Through indexicality, deathscape also shows liminality as identities are reconstructed and preserved, not as they were; they exist in between and are rearticulated based on memory and materiality and reconstructed through multimodal narratives being inscribed. With this, cemeteries go beyond merely resting places for the dead; they are dynamic social spaces, and epitaphs are elements that maintain enduring connections despite human mortality.
Keywords: Deathscape, Identity Reconstruction, Indexicality, Semiotic Framework, Semiotic Space.