A body ritual that has been at the core of the Inuit community of Canada is the creation of body tattoos using bone needles. The ritual is primarily attributed to women and young girls from this community and many find pride in wearing these tattoos as they view them signs of all they have accomplished (Allford, 2019) . The ritual existed in the community for many years but was stopped by missionaries more than one hundred years ago. Nonetheless, modern Inuit women are going back to this tradition and wearing these tattoos with pride.
The process for creating these tattoos involves hand pocking which calls for the pricking of the skin using small and thin needles dipped in color or ink. Since metal needles may not have existed many years back, these tattoos were made by pocking needles made of bone and soaked in suet (Allford, 2019) . The suet was inserted under one’s skin using a series of rapid injections from the needles. The Inuit tattoos are ancient and spiritual practices that have immense meaning for the women who have them. One pattern is the drawing of letter V on the forehead which represents one entering womanhood (Allford, 2019) . The women are tattooed stripes on their chins as a representation of their first period. They are also signs of beauty and they help the woman reach a place of good things, plentiful and happiness when she enters the afterlife. Overall, the Inuit women view tattoos as a connection to the earth and a sigh of their resilience through the adversities they have faced throughout history.
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Response
I have gained great insight from the unique practice that you have introduced. I would have never expected that there is a ritual that involves the brutal removal of hair around the eyebrows as a sign of beauty and improved appearance. Today’s standards of beauty, especially in women call for fuller eyebrows which is why many women use eye pencils or tattoos to highlight this area. The manner in which the hairs were removed seemed to indicate that a lot of eyebrows made one seem somewhat ugly and unkempt. I believe that such a social dictation would have made many members of society withdraw themselves from having fuller eyebrows and therefore opted for their brutal removal. The practice still happens in this day and age but women draw back these eyebrows after shaving. Nonetheless, the process is not as brutal as it was in the past.
Reference
Allford, J. (2019). Reclaiming Inuit culture, one tattoo at a time . CNN. Retrieved 21 March 2021, from https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/inuit-tattoos-culture-canada/index.html.
