The Non-Greenlandic Greenlandic Cultural Influencer

What made you enter mask dancing?

 

“Growing up in Greenland, we don’t have a lot of cultural education, so I felt like that I needed to connect with my culture somehow. For the longest time, I kept asking round: “Do you know anyone who can teach mask dancing?” Finally, in 2015, I found someone who was able to teach me. I didn’t speak Greenlandic, so it was important for me to have some culture that nobody can take away from me. So long story short, I started mask dancing because it was a way for me to connect with my culture.”

 

What life lessons do you think are highlighted in the art of Greenlandic mask dancing?

 

“One of the reasons that I started mask dancing for tourist is because a lot of tourists want to come to Greenland to see a real Greenlandic experience. But the truth about Greenlandic mask dance is that it is reinvented because a lot of our cultures were lost during colonization, which means a lot of cultures we had were forbidden and forgotten. We had to reclaim a lot of cultures we have today, and that’s one of the lessons that I love. It’s a nice story to tell because it’s true.”

 

What’s a perfect day in the life of Josepha Lauth Thomsen?

 

A perfect day for me depends on my mood because every day is different and depends on where I am. A lot of good food, a happy husband, a happy child, and a somewhat good weather are what a perfect day is for me. 

 

What interests do you have outside of your focus on the art of mask dancing?

 

A lot. I knit. I take photos. I paint. I draw. I play the guitar. And I use to sing. So a lot of different things.

 

What influenced you to begin Faces of Greenland?

 

“Faces of Greenland started because I had a lot of really nice portraits of my friends. And whenever I post them on my main account, I saw that they didn’t get the great reaction that I wanted. So I thought I had to make another account because it would be easier for people to know what they are following. Faces of Greenland actually started because they didn’t get a lot of great responses, but I thought they were too beautiful to be not shared, so I created Faces of Greenland.”

 

What influenced you to begin sharing Greenlandic content on social media?

 

“At one point, I started to work as a tour guide in 2014. And that’s when I started to share Greenland content. But my content was all over the place. It was personal life. It was everything. But at one point, I realized that I wanted to focus on Greenland because that’s the place where I’ve always been passionate about. I am always passionate about teaching Greenland to myself and others, so that’s where my account ended up taking me. And people, I guess, liked the content, and that’s what they’re here for.

 

What is the vision of your social media?

 

I wish I had one. But for me, it is just that I post pretty much whatever, and I have no goal that I wish I had. I think an account with stability and a goal is a bit more set, but for me it’s just posting whatever. Maybe I could do better at one point, and let’s see.”

 

What makes Nuuk a special city compared to other cities around the world?

 

“What I loved about it is that it has a lot of cultures. It’s an urban city, but it also had a lot of cultures and history. It’s just a lot of colony history and also Inuit history. I wouldn’t say it’s a lot more special than other places because they are a lot of special places in the world. But Nuuk is also just very nice-looking”

 

What makes the Greenlandic community special?

 

“We Greenlanders are very open and warm, and it’s easier to connect with Greenlanders. Well, it depends on the city, but most cities have foreigners coming in. We are very curious, and newcomers are very interesting. I have walked through towns where people just stopped and started talking with me and telling me about their lives. It’s just weird but in a really nice way. I have been invited to birthdays just by walking on the street. I walked in front a house, and she yelled “come in for a cup of coffee!” I felt that doesn’t happen in a lot of countries.”

 

Who was the most memorable person you met during Faces of Greenland? What are they like? What are the most memorable moments of your projects?

 

“They are a lot of really special people I met during Faces of Greenland. I have done it over time. It’s always nerve-wracking when I take photos of people I don’t know because I have to ask: “hey, may I take your portrait, and can you tell me a little bit about yourself” I have always done it on the site. I am always working, so I just do it in my free time. I don’t have a one specific person because they all have different stories. I would also love to go to homeless people and ask for their stories because they have a lot of stories to tell.”

 

What are the most prominent Greenlandic holidays? How do you celebrate them?

 

Because Greenland was colonized, a lot of holidays are Danish. We do have one on the sixth of January, the one about the holy three kings. Here people dress up so you can’t recognize them. Then they walk from door to door, and if you can’t guess who the person is, they are allowed to take something from your house. So people will have to hide their flash-screen TVs and really expensive things. They don’t do it in every city. I know they do it on the east coast, but I think maybe that stemmed from Christianity. Most of their holidays are from Christianity.

 

What is life in Greenland like?

 

Life in Greenland is different for every person, but I feel like people in Greenland in general are not concerned about weather. I felt like in Denmark, they talk a lot about the weather. But in Greenland, the weather is what it is, and also the weather is really extreme in Greenland. When we walk out, it’s usually snowstorm. But you still need to go to work and you still need a community that functions. Even though it’s a storm, it storms quite a lot. I feel like Greenlanders are generally cool when it comes to weather. They are pretty laid back and pretty like “Hakuna Matata.” We have something similar called “Imaqa,” which means maybe we will go out sailing today maybe not, which is hard for the tourism industry because people don’t usually get that in other places.

 

How do you see yourself in the Greenlandic community?

 

My dad is Danish, and I always feel like a minority here because I don’t speak Greenlandic. 

 

What would you say a typical Greenlandic person is like?

 

The easy-to-smile-and-easy-to-laugh type of person. That’s what a typical Greenlandic person for me. They laugh really loudly. They don’t really loudly, but they laugh really loudly.

 

What is the food like in Greenland? What is your favorite Greenlandic food?

 

Food in Greenland is very meat-based. If you take the food that is around you, that is fish, whale, reindeer, and arctic hare. It’s a lot of mammals, so it’s very meat-based. And that’s a lot of vitamins, a lot of good stuff, taken from that. I really like reindeer but also seal, whale meat – all of them, dried fish. A lot of Greenlandic food is really nice.

 

What are your favorite things to do in Greenland?

 

My favorite things are hiking and picking berries in the autumn (because that’s the berry picking season). It’s just nice to be natural and collect food that you can eat.