The Rebirth of 1000 year Tradition

The deeply wrinkled, beautiful elder looked up from her playful demo on my skin, and smiled as if to
say, “You want one?” I nervously giggled and moved my arm away. Little did I know that three years
later, Whang-Od would be nominated for the Philippines National Living Treasures Award, prompting
a shift in the ancient art’s future.

Every Kalinga village used to have a mambabatok (a master tattooist) to honour and usher in life's
milestones. When women would become eligible for marriage, they would adorn their bodies with
tattoos to attract suitors. When headhunters prepared for battle, an inked centipede would be their
talisman, or when they returned with a kill, an eagle would commemorate their victory. “Tattoos are
one of our greatest treasures,” Whang-Od said. “Unlike material things, no one can take them away
from us when we die.”

Mambabatoks can only teach within their bloodline, so without any children, Whang-Od would have
been the last mambabatok in the Kalinga province. But a decade ago, she began training her great
niece, Grace Palicas, to be her apprentice. At the tender age of 10, Palicas was put into intense
training to learn the archive of ancient designs and the necessary coordination and finesse to tattoo
at 100 taps per minute. Most importantly, Whang-Od explained: “For Grace to become a good
mambabatok, she will need passion and patience.

The influx of people and physical demands on now 97-year-old Whang-Od has allowed Palicas to
hone her technique and take the lead on many designs. “I want to continue the Kalinga traditional
tattoo,” she said. “When Whang-Od passes on, I am here to take care of our Kalinga traditions, to
keep them remaining for the people and to not forget our culture.”
The future of Kalinga tattooing is uncertain, but it will not die with Whang-Od. The ancient art is in
high demand, and young Palicas – now well-respected in the international tattooing community – is
poised to carry its legacy. Whang-Od will no longer be mourned as the last mambabatok. Perhaps,
she’ll live on as the mother of a new generation of Kalinga tattoo.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160106-an-ancient-ink-technique-sees-new-
blood?fbclid=IwAR23he2HaRIj3BSQBkbExABEReJx6bvZToN7eDpqsw0CBG1BxCHVsAw7UTI
[Youtube]

In this Philippines travel vlog, I head to Kalinga in northern Luzon to find the tattoo artist legend Apo
Whang Od. The last mambatok, a style of traditional tattoo found only in the Philippines. The people
of Kalinga were head hunters. Buscalan, the home of Wang Od was particularly famous for their
strange tradition of tattooing. They thought tattoos were beautiful, and the women would cover
themselves in full body tattoos to attract men. The men however, would have to earn their tattoos by
bringing back the heads of rival tribes. The more ink, the greater the warrior. After being featured
recently in a documentary, and multiple TV shows, visiting Whang-Od and her granddaughters has
become a tourist attraction. Many people make the trip from Manila to receive one. It's about a 12h
bus ride north of Manila to Sagada, from there, it's another 4 hours to the trail to Buscalan, then an
hour walk.

[Youtube]

Youtube: This 101 - year - old Tattoo Artist is the last of her kind.
Whang - od is the last remaining mambabatok - a tattoo artist in the Philippines using traditional
hand - tap methods. At 101 years old, she is the last master of the thousand - year - old trade that
first began as a way to honor warriors in battle. Using a hammer and thorns, Whang - od taps coal ink
into skin. Today, she is training her grand niece to carry on her legacy, keeping the family mambabatok
tradition alive.

High - up in the mountains of the Philippines. In the remote village of Buscalan, there's a woman who
is last of her kind.
Mambabatok is the name given to traditional tattoo artist of the Kalinga Ethnic Group. The artists are
master of their thousand year trade. Originally giving tattoos to warriors who won in battle.
-She's highly sought after by young people around the world.

Source: https://youtu.be/Ivn4-GzrETM
Pagbabatok: A Dying Art

The Philippines has indeed a rich cultural diversity. It is a country that possesses varied cultural
influences that resulted from previous colonizations. The Filipino culture is not known only to Filipinos,
but to the whole world as well. In fact, it is a culture that is highly appreciated by many races and even
applauded in many parts of the world.

A rich aspect of our culture is Art. Even before the coming of the Spaniards and other colonizers, our
ancestors have their indigenous art already that is evident on caves, sculptures, weavings and carvings.
One of the art forms engraved in our culture is the traditional method of tattooing or “Pambabatok”
that is native to the Cordillera Region. Luzon, being the largest island of the Philippines, is inhabited by
a number of indigenous groups. These indigenous groups are known for their extensive tattoos and
rituals especially the Northern Mountain tribespeople of the Cordillera Region.

Batok is believed to have been practiced for one thousand years already. Unlike today, tattooing in
ancient times isn’t done for money. The tribespeople of Kalinga are headhunters, they customarily
practice headhunting, making it one of the main reason behind tattooing. It is said that tribal wars
(where headhunting takes place) happen when one tribe wants to get a certain land and the other
tribes won’t allow it. Men in these tribe groups should first make themselves worthy of the tattoo by
joining the fights. A successful headhunter take the head back to his tribe and that’s when he’ll get the
tattoo. Men who choose to have their skin tattooed with these ancient marks are viewed as brave and
courageous people in the society. Thus, it marks their social status within their community. A Kalinga
warrior who is heavily marked with these ancient tattoo, commands a lot of respect and could make his
enemies tremble in fear. People at that time, believe that tattoos possess spiritual power and magical
qualities which gave them strength and protection. More women is also attracted to men with lots of
tattoos in his body.

While men earn the tattoo, women in these tribal groups get the tattoo to enhance their beauty, for
fertility, and to serve as a means of clothing. This is the kind of beauty technique women adopt in
pursuit of beauty before the age of make-ups we are familiar with today. Women who have reached
the right age are allowed to get tribal designs to enhance their beauty. Men are also attracted to
women with many tattoos in her body.

These practices of the Kalinga people are just indications of their broad culture. Within the tribal
culture, the tattoo symbolizes feminine beauty and male courage. But nowadays, the Kalinga tattoos
are no longer made according to tradition. Because of the changing world and the people’s need, one
who wanted to have a tattoo should pay as the tribespeople are required to start using money for
things like electricity or buying pigs and hens. However, the material for the tattoo is the same with the
ancient tattoo warriors. Tattoos in the past served more like a social representation rather than a
decorative art for these people.
Pagbabatok is practiced by hand-tapping the ink into the skin using a thorn attached to one end of a
stick. The thorn used is usually from a lemon plant and is called “Sait” in their dialect. The bamboo stick
to which the thorn is attached is called “Gisi” and the short stick that is used for hand-tapping is called
“Pat-ik”. The ink used is from soot or “Using”, mixed with a little water inside the coconut mixing bowl. A
blade of grass is also used to create a pattern on the skin after it is dipped into the ink. After the pattern
is drawn, the tattooing session will begin. The thorn needle is dipped into the ink and follows the
pattern drawn before with a blade of grass. This is done by using a short bamboo stick with the thorn
needle. The same pattern is followed until the whole ink is absorbed from the needle. This method is
indeed a form of indigenous art as it utilizes indigenous materials as a medium for the creation of
different artworks.

The most prominent tattoo artist in the Philippines is Apo Whang-Od, who has dedicated her life to
tattooing after her husband died when she was just 25 years old. She is widely known as “the last and
oldest Kalinga tattoo artist”. She’s now on her late 90’s but despite her old age, she is still practicing this
ancient art in her residence in Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, a hidden village in a mountain of the Luzon
island. Whang-Od is a member of the Butbut tribe in Kalinga. She has tribal tattoos covering her chest
and arms and it is her father who taught her this ancient art of tattooing the body with ink and thorns.
Her tattoos feature Baybayin and tribal patterns. Most of them symbolize bravery and nature, like ferns,
stars, steps, rice bundles, centipedes and python scales. Up until now, Whang-Od is still tattooing locals,
visitors and even foreigners from around the world.

On the other hand, “Pagbabatok” is a tradition on the verge of extinction until Apo Whang-Od started
mentoring her niece on the art so that the tattoo artistry of Kalinga will continue. It is said that this art
form has not been properly preserved from the start for the Spaniards deemed tattoos inappropriate so
they banned the act itself.

As Filipinos, we are responsible to make actions to revive this vanished tradition native to our homeland.
Knowledge and awareness about this tradition is highly needed for us to be able to educate the future
generations and encourage them to continue this tradition for it is a part of our rich culture. The reward
for our efforts today is much greater and deeper than a tattoo. It is about being enriched with the
knowledge of our diverse Filipino culture. So if ever you want to have a tattoo, consider this traditional
method as one of your options. Because it is not just an ink marked into your skin, but a dying art worth
preserving.

Source: https://medium.com/@alaynepeanopongpong/pagbabatok-a-dying-art-cca9d14b8f9a