This Inuk TikToker Got Traditional Face Tattoos & Shared The Whole Process (VIDEO)
"My heart telling me my ancestors will be proud."
TikToker Shina Nova getting her face tattooed.
Face tattoos are increasingly common, but few likely have as much cultural meaning as the "markings" that Canadian TikToker Shina Nova (@shinanova) had done.
Shina, who has over 4 million followers on the social media platform, describes herself as a throat singer who is "Proud Indigenous" and "Inuk."
She recently shared a video detailing her thoughts leading up to getting her face tattoo and what people had to say about the idea.
In her video, she shared that she's willing to travel four hours to get her face tattoo.
Despite people telling her that she'll regret it "even if it's cultural," she decided to keep her appointment.
"My heart telling me my ancestors will be proud," Shina said of her decision to go forward with it.
Shina also said that she waited over a year to get it done and was nervous the night before, which is understandable.
"On our way! Mom getting a matching tattoo with me," she shared with a clip of her mom waving.
Warning: the video below shows graphic images of tattooing.
For the tattoo itself, the artist used the "hand poking method to be more traditional."
Shina then showed off her new look, complete with a big smile on her face.
@shinanova Journey of getting my first tattoo 😊#tunniit #culture #traditional #inuit #tattoo @heyzorgzilla @kayuulanova
The video has 4.7 million likes and thousands of supportive comments.
"Normalize Indigenous facial tattoos," wrote one person. "It’s nothing to regret and part of our cultures. You look beautiful."
"They look like they've been waiting your entire lifetime to be there," added another. "Stunning!"
Unfortunately, she did share some of the negativity she encountered after getting her tattoos.
@shinanova Even after I explained how significant they were. Standing by my ancestors🙌🏼
"To the person who came up to me and said, 'Let me go get a rag and remove the dirt off of your face," she said before mouthing along to the words "Savage Daughter."
"I am my mother's savage daughter / I will not cut my hair / I will not lower my voice," she sang as the clip then showed other Indigenous women and their face tattoos.
"Standing by my ancestors," Shina captioned the post.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.