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The role of natural disasters in the semiotic transformations of culture: the case of the volcanic eruptions of Mt. Merapi, Indonesia

  • Muzayin Nazaruddin ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: April 21, 2022

Abstract

This study examines the entanglements of natural disasters and cultural changes from an ecosemiotic point of view. Taking the case of Mt. Merapi’s periodic eruptions and the locals’ interpretations of such constant natural hazards, it is based on empirical data gathered through longitudinal qualitative fieldworks on the local communities surrounding this volcano. In order to adapt to the constant natural hazards in their environment, disaster prone societies develop unique sign systems binding cultural and natural processes. This study shows that traditionally, unique sensorial-environmental sign systems have formed the basis of communication between human and environment, allowing the locals to perceive the eruption as a communication involving them and local environmental agencies. Recently, the eruptions have triggered the adoption of new livelihoods of local people, as well as the acceptance of new scientific signs for the interpretation of the activities of the volcano. The latter has been accompanied by significant cultural changes, including the adoption of the idea of progress and the transformation of the previous entanglements of local culture and its natural environment. The study concludes that natural disasters, entangled with ongoing social transformations, may play a fundamental role as triggers of semiotic change in a community. Such semiotic change can in turn modify the interpretation of the natural disaster itself, and in that way shift the way humans perceive and interact with their environment.


Corresponding author: Muzayin Nazaruddin, Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, E-mail:

Funding source: Eesti Teadusagentuur

Award Identifier / Grant number: PRG314

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2014-2020.4.01.16-0027

  1. Research funding: This work was supported by the European Social Fund’s Doctoral Studies and Internationalisation Programme DoRa (Archimedes Foundation), the University of Tartu ASTRA Project PER ASPERA, which is financed by the (European Union) European Regional Development Fund; and an Estonian Research Council Grant “Semiotic Fitting as a Mechanism of Biocultural Diversity: Instability and Sustainability in Novel Environments” (PRG314). The 2019 fieldwork was funded by the Archimedes Foundation through the Dora Plus sub-activity 1.2 Doctoral Student Mobility (University of Tartu). The 2013 fieldwork was funded by the Department of Communication Universitas Islam Indonesia.

  2. Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest is reported by the author.

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Received: 2021-03-05
Accepted: 2021-08-18
Published Online: 2022-04-21
Published in Print: 2022-05-25

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