Apo Whang Od
Apo Whang Od
Whang-od Oggay born February 17, 1917, also known as Maria Oggay, is a Filipina tattoo artist from Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines. She is often described as the "last" and oldest mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattooist) and is part of the Butbut people of the larger Kalinga ethnic group.
She has been tattooing headhunters and women of the indigenous people of Butbut in Buscalan, Kalinga, since she was 15 years old, but the Butbut warriors who used to earn tattoos by protecting villages or killing enemies no longer exist. Despite this, Whang-od continues to practice her traditional art form on tourists visiting Buscalan.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) conferred on Whang-od the prestigious Dangal ng Haraya Award at Tabuk, the capital of Whang-od's ethnic province of Kalinga, in 2018. She was nominated for the National Living Treasures Award (Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan) in 2017. Her nomination is still being processed by the NCCA
Whang-od started tattooing at the age of 15, a traditional artform that she learned from her father who was considered a master tattooist in the region.[ Traditionally, only men with special tattooing ancestry were allowed to learn the art. Whang-od was an exception due to her talent and potential seen by her father. In later life, Whang-od's chosen apprentices constituted of only women, breaking the patrimonial tradition for the first time in recorded Kalinga history. Despite breaking tradition, her community accepted her decision. She has been doing the batok, the traditional hand-tapped tattooing, on male headhunters who earned the tattoos by protecting villages or killing enemies.[ She also tattoos women of the Butbut people in Buscalan, Kalinga, primarily for aesthetic purposes. As a traditional Kalinga tattooist or mambabatok, she has done fortune telling and chants while doing tattoos. Every design she creates contains symbolic meanings specific to the mambabatok culture. For example, a warrior who had killed an enemy would be given an eagle tattoo upon his return from battle.
She was first tattooed as a teenager with the designs consisting of a ladder and a python. The python tattoo was especially important in her people's sacred stories. According to their indigenous religion, the python scale tattoo was first given to Lagkunawa, a beautiful noblewoman from the village of Tinglayan (Whang-od's home village). It was a gift from the hero-god Banna, who fell in love with the mortal. Ever since, the tattoo was passed on through the generations. Fatok is the term used for tattooing women to show beauty and wealth. When a woman's arm is tattooed just like Whang-od's own tattoos, the family of the woman is obliged to pay the tattoo artist a piglet or a bundle of harvested rice (locally called as dalan). On the other hand, fi-ing is the term used for tattooing of male Butbut warriors on their chests and arms. Whang-od used to practice fi-ing until headhunting was discouraged by the government. Fi-ing was last practiced in 1972.
Whang-Od also paved a way for Kalinga to become a haven for Philippine indigenous art form, with a lot of travelers from within and outside of the country, going on a pilgrimage to the high mountains of Buscalan, Tinglayan to pay homage and be tattooed by Apo Whang-Od.
For the “batok” to survive until the next generations, it is no longer earned as a rite of passage and has evolved into an art form as its salvation from becoming extinct. Thanks to Apo Whang-Od’s contribution in the evolution and development of the cultural practice, she will no longer be the last mambabatok in Kalinga. Instead, she will live as the mother of Kalinga’s new generation of tattooists.
At the age of 101, Apo Whang-od Oggay from the Butbut tribe in Buscalan, Kalinga is the oldest manwhatok, a traditional Kalinga tattoo artist.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA) recognizes Whang-od “as a living vessel of a traditional practice, who deserves honor and acknowledgement for her contributions, particularly by bringing to greater attention the indigenous practice of tattooing and Filipino culture in general.”
At 5 p.m. today, she is set to receive the 2018 Dangal ng Haraya Award for Intangible Cultural Heritage from the NCCA for making a significant contribution to Philippine culture and arts. The awarding ceremonies will be held at the Kalinga Capitol Plaza, Tabuk, Kalinga.
Sources
Whang Od - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whang-od
Apo Whang-Od Officially Nominated for the National Living Treasures Award https://baguiocityguide.com/apo-whang-od-officially-nominated-for-the-national-living-treasures-award/