People think I’m crazy for having my face tattooed – but they don’t know the real meaning behind it

A WOMAN was told she would regret her face tattoo – but she says people don’t understand the meaning behind it. Shina Novalinga, 24, shared a video on TikTok of an artist inking triangular markings over her cheeks and a vertical line down her chin. TikTok/@shinanovaShina Novalinga has tattoos on her cheeks and chin[/caption] TikTok/@shinanovaAn artist used a traditional hand-poking method instead of a tattoo gun[/caption] Her um Kayuula also got the same face tattoo and Shina plans to get more tattoos like it this year. The marking are traditional for Inuits – indigenous people from Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Shina, an Inuk from Canada, wrote after she got them: “A lot of people told me I would regret it and that it would ruin my face, my ‘beauty’. “I don’t think so.” Shina’s artist used a traditional hand-poking method to apply the ink. The markings often broadly symbolise womanhood, but each has its own significance to the individual. Shina has not revealed the meaning of hers. She used the #womanhood hashtag and Emmy Meli’s song I Am Woman as a backing to a TikTok video of her tattoos. Some Inuit girls would traditionally get the line down their chin as their first tattoo when they start menstruating. Other markings would be added when they reached a new skill or milestone. Western colonisers tried to abolish the custom. Social media personality Shina, who has collaborated with brands like Boss and Elle, has used platforms like TikTok and Instagram to spread awareness of her culture. She previously wrote: “I never thought it would be a sensitive topic. Now I am proud to wear them everyday and work with brands that celebrate my tunniit, a part of my identity as an Inuk woman.” Shina, a throat singer, has also previously claimed someone told her: “Let me go get a rag and remove the dirt from your face.” Shina said she explained their significance, adding: “Thinking about what my ancestors, grandparents, great grandparents had to go through. “I stand by them.” TikTok/@shinanovaThe markings are thought to be a symbol of her womanhood[/caption]