
When the first edition of the book – Soul, beautify thyself – appeared, the renowned Danish Keeper of National Antiquities P. V. Glob stated in the Danish newspaper Politiken:
Ole Jørgensen has expertly selected subjects from an enormous amount of material and organized them in thematic sections. An example is the section
‘Philosophy of Life and Belief’ describing shamans, helping spirits, soul and body, family patterns, deities, amulets, supernatural beings and magic formulas
– all integral to fortifying the ability of the Inuit to survive in the harsh nature.
The hundreds of photographs, drawings, pictures and maps – many of which are published here for the first time – form a rich source of information; the interaction between pictures and text is brilliant, and this entire publication is a sensation waiting only to
be published in all the major languages of the world.
Extract from the foreword by Aqqaluk Lynge:
This is a timely book and I commend Ole Jorgensen for writing it. It comes at a time when Western scientists are increasingly coming to understand that their approaches have limitations. It comes at a time when the ”knowledge industry”, made up of academia, journalists, and other writers that previously ignored indigenous knowledge systems, is starting to reach out to other ways of knowing. This book demonstrates that the intellectual life of the Inuit is alive and strong, and always has been. Ole Jorgensen not only helps us understand how the intellectual systems of the Inuit work, but also how the Inuit spiritual dimension is a central and integral part of our intellectual system. Western science and traditional knowledge are beginning to meet and Mr. Jorgensen, by writing this book, is contributing to the strengthening of the potential bonds that now exist between them (…)
Our intellectual traditions, whether they are based in ”hunter knowledge” or in a more ideas-based discourse, are strong. And these traditions are strong because, each in their own way, they include a strong spiritual dimension. Ole Jorgensen helps us understand this in both words and pictures.
Aqqaluk Lynge : President, Inuit Circumpolar Council Greenland, Member, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues