#((response))

I understand there are a lot of different cultural practices with tattoos but the only ones i was able to find a meaning for were a V shape on the forehead for when a girl becomes a woman(i saw one source say this was when the girl first got her period, no idea if thats accurate.), tattoos on the torso representing motherhood(the source said it was supposed to be reminiscent of a baby carrying method), and tattoos on both thighs gotten(before?) giving birth(I think it said it was for protection?). I also saw some other pictures of tattoos but i was unable to find a representation of what they show(Dots on face, lines/dotted lines on chin, a second V shape on the forehead, etc.)

From what I found about the reasoning behind the tattoos the only one(that i know the reasoning behind) that i would draw katara with would be a V on her forehead(Shes a teenage girl and if that source was correct about it being about becoming a woman then katara would almost definitely have it). Basically I’m asking for sources that can give me information on this(or if you wanted to tell me yourself about the tattoos thats perfectly fine aswell)

Thanks in advance, if i don’t get a response before i finish my drawing I will just leave the tattoos out of the drawing to be safe.

Obligatory disclaimer: I am Inupiaq and thus my knowledge is primarily of Inupiaq culture and though we don't call ourselves Inuit the way Canadian Inuit do, we are often all lumped together under the Inuit label. Keep in mind that when i answer cultural questions, it is primarily as an Inupiaq rather than a scholar of all peoples ever called Inuit.

The chin tattoos are for coming of age in my and I believe most Eskimo cultures. It's a painful procedure that shows the woman's ability to withstand pain, not unlike the pain tolerance building exercises men would practice, and thus, readiness to endure childbirth. I've heard that the lines, often somewhat radial from the mouth rather than parallel, are meant to evoke sun rays. While many duties follow wifehood and motherhood, the most culturally iconic is tending the home's oil lamp, the one source of light and non-bodily heat for the household; thus women are associated with the sun. Allow me to wax poetic about my culture for a minute: how beautiful is it that being prepared to be a wife and mother means reminding everyone your words, your songs, your smiles, are sunlight?

It's my understanding that a forehead tattoo is applied to a woman after marrying and having children, to sort of indicate that she is a matron of the village.

I do! For at least Michael (middle) and Gabriel (right)