Ethnography of Spirits

The Anthropology of Death, Grief, and Mediation Between the Living and the Dead

Painting's name: Spirit of innocence, By; Dr. Ram Viranjan.artconcept.club

Introduction

How the Living Imagine the Dead — and the Dead Remain Among the Living

The ethnography of spirits is, at its heart, an anthropology of death, grief, and connection — between the living and the dead, loss and memory, faith and imagination.
It goes beyond mourning to ask how people envision life after death, how they sense the presence of souls, and how belief and emotion weave invisible bridges between two realms of existence.

I use this term — ethnography of spirits — to describe my own research: how people understand the lives of their deceased loved ones, and how they communicate with those who are gone.

Holy Grief

The sacred ache through which the living keep the dead alive.

Zār

The wind that remembers, whispering the language of the spirits through those it touches.

Fieldwork

My research unfolds across two contrasting landscapes of Iran. In Tehran, I explore the emotional and spiritual dimensions of grief and martyrdom — how families of fallen soldiers and others in mourning maintain ongoing connections with the dead, often viewing martyrs as spiritual mediators between the living and God. In Qeshm Island, by contrast, I study the belief in Zar — the evil spirit-winds of the South — exploring how people interpret illness, possession, and healing through their relationship with invisible forces.

From Tehran to Qeshm Island

My fieldwork spans the Middle East, from the busy heart of Tehran to the mystical shores of Qeshm Island, in southern Iran.

In Tehran, I studied the many faces of grief — among families who lost loved ones during the Iran–Iraq war and others living through more recent losses.
I discovered a powerful belief: that the souls of martyrs act as mediators between the living and God.
What began as a study of mourning soon became an exploration of how people form ongoing relationships with the dead — whether kin or strangers.

The Winds of the South

Further south, on Qeshm Island, the story changes.
Here, people speak of winds that breathe, hunger, and age — known as the Zar.
These winds are alive: they have tempers, names, and desires.
The Ahl-e Hava (The Wind Believers) see them as spirits from the sea, capable of touching and transforming human lives.

This strand of my work moves closer to demonology than grief, yet both reveal the same truth — that human beings never stop seeking ways to make sense of the unseen.
Across places, beliefs, and emotions, the living and the dead remain endlessly intertwined.

Similar Researches

Theoretical Frameworks and Comparative Studies

This section highlights academic works that explore themes similar to my own research — particularly the anthropology of death, grief, and spiritual mediation — offering theoretical perspectives that help contextualize my findings.

Death, Ritual and Belief: The Rhetoric of Funerary Rites and Mors Britannica: Lifestyle and Death-style in Britain Today.

By Professor. Douglas Davies

In this post, I reflect on how two seminal works by Professor Douglas Davies illuminate my ethnographic research. Through their ideas of sacrifice, holy violence, and ritual symbolism, I explore how Iranian experiences of mourning transform into what I call holy grief—an enduring, spiritual bond between the living and the dead that redefines the very meaning of triumph over death.

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