shamans

I went to a shamanic hour at an antique shop courtesy of Friends of Vietnam Heritage. We got to sit and talk for an hour or more with the shaman from the San Diu people. Funnily enough his translator told us that he was not sure if ghosts existed or not. The rituals sounded very complicated and to be a shaman you have to study at least 50 books in Chinese. The shamanic work is done out of charity- they only get paid 50-100,000 dong for a ceremony that can go for a few days. I also met Kirsten Endres by accident- a german academic whom studies the len dong ceremony to the mother goddess. I had e mailed her previously to ask her for articles on spirit mediumship. She told me that only once or twice had she felt something special happening during these ceremonies she views them as a form of worship to the mother goddess rather than an actual manifestation of spirits. This opens up a line of questioning in my writing about spirit beliefs and ceremonies- and what happens if a medium actually communicates with spirits or believes she does. Perhaps I can write about the erosion of spirit beliefs in Vietnam- and what happens to the spirits then.