Colonial Traces and the Spirituality of Garis Nyawa: A Philosophical Study of Spatial Memory at Yogyakarta Station

Abstract

Yogyakarta Station (Tugu) represents a spatial palimpsest harboring overlapping layers of colonial, cultural, and spiritual memory that remain insufficiently examined through a philosophical lens. This study analyzes how the garis nyawa practice a Kejawen-based safety ritual performed by train drivers within the station space operates as a strategy of epistemic resistance against the colonial spatial logic embedded in the physical infrastructure of the Dutch-era station building. Employing a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach and spatial memory theory, this study integrates Homi K. Bhabha's postcolonial framework with the Javanese ontology of cosmos–human unity (manunggaling kawula Gusti). A qualitativeinterpretive method was applied, with data collected through ethnographic observation, semistructured in-depth interviews with senior train drivers, and analysis of architectural artifacts. The findings show that garis nyawa is not merely a supernatural practice but constitutes a cultural technology that actively constructs a space of resistance within colonial infrastructure—forming what this study conceptualizes as a “spiritual liminal space.” The novelty of this research lies in formulating the concept of spiritual liminal space as a new analytical category that links the philosophy of space, postcolonial theory, and local ontology within a single, coherent interpretive framework. The theoretical contribution of this article extends Turner's theory of liminality with a resistant cultural-spiritual dimension, while offering a new model for understanding the interaction between colonial heritage and spiritual practice in public space within the Southeast Asian context.