julialovino

[julialovino]

Baguio Crafts & Folk Arts

Traditional Tattoo

The ancient art of tattooing is inspired by tradition throughout the Cordilleras.One of the most famous of all tattoo artisans is the great Maria Oggay, more popularly known to the world by her native name Apo “Whang-od.” She lives in Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, and accommodates visitors daily—tapping on skin and marking her patrons with her amazing art. Apo Whang-od is also known as “the last and oldest mambabatok” in Kalinga and is a part of the Butbut tribe. The importance of the art I have chosen is to serve as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, amulets and talismans, protection, and as punishment, like the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts.