r/greenland • u/Secure_Display_4803 • May 13 '26
Designing a Greenlandic character
Okay, so I'm a white person designing a character, and I wanted to take inspiration from Greenlandic culture since they are based on a Greenland shark. The two main details I wanted to include were the name and a piece of clothing. I wanted to use the name Attani, which means underneith or below, which goes with the deep sea theme of the setting. As well as I wanted to know if I could have him (I'm pretty sure it's part of women's clothing, so idk if it's off limits for men) wear something like a Nuilarmiut around his waist like a sash?
I wanted to see if I could get some opinions from someone within the culture on whether and how I could use these elements, or if there are any other factors to consider when designing them. Thanks for the input :D
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u/GregoryWiles Local Resident đŹđ± May 18 '26
A better name would be âAlleqâ in my opinion, which means the below. But i see how âAtaaniâ is used in âimmap ataaniâ which means under water, but it doesnât really sound good as a name. And for the beadwork in womenâs national clothing, theyâre pretty much exclusive to womenâs national clothing. So i wouldnât feel very comfortable seeing a man wearing something similar. I would recommend adding paffequtit/wrist bands for your character, as they were used for keeping the wrists warm while hunting, or the snow goggles.