ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses figurines as an avenue for exploring relationships between concepts of embodied physicality, personhood, and gender identity. It looks at artifacts that incorporate hybridity of gendered elements, and how gendered features such as materials with known associations with gender, gendered motifs seen in tattoo design, and symbolism related to gendered themes in mythology and folklore might be combined to communicate more complex gendered meanings. Figurines were used as stand-ins for people, both living and dead, within Inuit communities. The nonbinary nature of the Inuit gender system as expressed through the role of the angakuq might also be tied to the role of medical practice within shamanic tradition. Angakkuit often acted as medical practitioners or healers in Inuit communities prior to European contact. A prevalent aspect of many shamanic rituals was the traversing of the boundaries between human and spirit realms.
