### q6 Inuit male tattoos marked important milestones > Men also were tattooed, though less frequently, and illustrations showing their body designs are extremely rare. A kigjugaq between the eyes could protect you against the spirits of the deceased. While a Bathurst Inlet shaman lay “dead” — in trance —he received a nose tattoo to return him to life, as part of his initiation. Similar rite- of-passage tattoos commemorated a shaman’s slaying of a spirit; a hunter harpooning a whale; or a warrior killing an enemy. Whale tallies could be lines traced across the bridge of the nose (Cape Bathurst), or three crosses on one shoulder and four on the other — one for each whale (Mackenzie Delta). In some places, man killing and whale killing were deemed equally meritorious and celebrated with eating and storytelling while the lines were tattooed. The harpooner so honoured was often allowed to take a second wife. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fmsj7jeh3z334k0jpt2esrx1) - [[Marks of Belonging by ABOVE&BEYOND#q6 Inuit male tattoos marked important milestones|View in Vault]]