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"Batok" or traditional hand-tapped tattooing. She became prominent because she has been featured on some local TV shows, international documentaries, magazines and others. Photos below will show the beauty of Buscalan, Kalinga and their traditional "batok."
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| A photo of Apo Whang Od while tattooing a tourist. |
Apo Whang Od is an indigenous tattoo artist from Kalinga province who uses an old style of tattooing called "Batok," or traditional hand-tapped tattooing. She became prominent because she has been featured on local TV shows, international documentaries, magazines, and others.
A lady named Apo Whang Od (locals pronounced it as Fang Od) is 103 years old and she's the oldest mambabatok from the Butbut tribe in Buscalan, Kalinga, Philippines. The tattoos on her skin prove how powerful she was during her time.
In this generation, most people think a tattoo has a negative connotation. It can even affect your career, regardless of the talent and education you may have. My eagerness to get inked started in October 2014 at the Philippine National Museum when I saw a portrait of an old lady with tribal tattoos all over her body. In National Geographic, several documentaries featured how significant tattoos and pierces were, especially for people in ancient times. Tattoos and pierces prove a tribe recognizes a person’s accomplishment, mostly in battles. There are several ways of tattooing worldwide, depending on their geographical feature and culture. In the Northern part of the Philippines, in Buscalan, Kalinga, they call it Batok. It is an ancient/tribal form of marking (tattooing) a warrior after successful combat or ladies who brought pride to the tribe.