Apo Whang-Od, the oldest “mababatok” or traditional tattoo artist in Kalinga, celebrated her 105th birthday.
Apo Whang-Od, also known as Maria Oggay was born on February 17, 1917.
On Saturday, February 19, the people of Buscalan happily celebrated Apo Whang-Od’s birthday.
According to Darryl Bautista, one of the tourists who attended the festival, Apo Whang-Od’s family slaughtered a pig.
There was also fun in the evening. In some videos taken by Bautista, it can be seen that Whang-od participated in the festivities.
Whang-od is considered world-renowned in the art of tattooing, and in 2018 he was awarded the National Commission for Culture and the Arts the Honor of Haraya Award for Intangible Cultural Heritage.
She joined the ranks of late senator Edgardo Angara, journalist Susan Calo Medina, Senator Loren Legarda, architect Augusto Villalon, and artist and former National Museum director Jesus Peralta.
NCCA previously said Apo Whang-od “deserves honor and acknowledgment for her contributions, particularly by bringing to greater attention the indigenous practice of tattooing and Filipino culture in general.”
The commission described Whang-od as the Philippines’ “most recognized and respected master tattooist.”
Apo Whang-od celebrates 105th birthday
Whang-od made headlines in 2021 when vlogger Nas Daily allegedly included her in its tutorial series even without official permission.
Whang-od started tattooing at the age of 15, a traditional art form that she learned from her father, who was considered a master tattooist in the region. Traditionally, only men with unique 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 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.
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