more ma

Had dinner last night with Andrea Kauser a german anthropologist investigating spirituality in Hanoi and Doug Jardine an American academic teaching at Hanoi university. Andrea had some interesting things to say about ghosts and beliefs in spirits- she finds my belief that ghosts can appear during the 49 day transition period interesting- and she asked me if I had considered talking to my deceased grandparents by spirit medium. My first reaction was it was spooky, then that I hadn't thought of it- followed by my skepticism that mediums actually communicate with spirits. Andrea does not believe that a medium would speak to her in German from her grandfather- and she wonders whether spirits can travel over water. I personally think that ghosts and spirits do exist, that the chance encounters that people do have has built up a series of complex beliefs in when spirits materialise- and some of it is true and some of it is wishful thinking.
Andrea thinks for herself that it is more important for her as an anthropologist to investigate how these practices form community and spiritual economy.