REGARDING MY FATHER: THE STORY OF AN ANTHROPOLOGIST’S ITINERARY AS A GRIEVING PROCESS

Abstract

In this article, the author presents his experience of anthropology as a grieving process. He tells how the death of his father was a decisive event in his research. He shows that his absence triggers ethnographic reactions (writing so as not to forget). The author also activates beliefs. From there, he analyses his acts of believing, their modalities and degrees. He also looks for evidence of the afterlife in certain so-called scientific documents, which leads him to analyse the syncretism between science and religion. In an ethnography in Catholic parishes, he is disappointed by parishers’responses to questions about the resurrection. His doubts lead him to stop believing. Through these different situations, it appears that anthropology has helped the author to alleviate the emotion of his father’s absence, but it has also revealed his definitive absence. Keywords: death, gieving process, remembrance, diary, believing, presenc