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A labret is a form of body piercing. Taken literally, it is any type of adornment that is attached to the lip (labrum). However, the term usually refers to a piercing that is below the bottom lip, above the chin. It is sometimes referred to as a "tongue pillar" or a "soul patch piercing".
"access to labrets. After 3,000 Before Present, a divergence in labret wear in north and south coasts. In the north from 1500 - 3500 BP, more labrets worn by males. After 1500 BP, labrets worn by females. In the south, between 2000 - 3500 BP, worn by males and females, but from 2000 BP on, labrets generally disappear and are replaced by cranial deformation by free males and females of whatever class (e.g. elite or commoner). So, for 4,000 years on the northwest coast, it was important to distinguish certain individuals in a very direct manner; either by cranial deformation or by labret wear. Gender and geographical region may also be identified by these methods." Simon Fraser University
When a mask was being made to represent someone of high status, that mask would likewise have a labret.
The wearing of labrets was widely observed among Tlingit people women of high status at the time of European and American arrivals in Southeast Alaska. The Russian term for the Tlingit, Koloshi, derived from an Alutiiq language word for labret.Shelikhov, Gregorii Ivanovich and Richard A. Pierce. A Voyage to America 1783–1786. Kingston: Limestone Press, 1981.
Based on analysis of the history and social context of the labret (lip plug) on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia over the last 5,000 years, Marina LaSalle asserts that "while simple correlations of the labret with 'status' and 'gender' are not wrong, nonetheless they betray the complexity of body ornamentation which, though manifested materially, is highly contextual" and that "the labret is a symbol and expression of social identity that continues to hold significant meaning for the descendants of this heritage."[4]
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