The Philippines’ Apo Whang-od Oggay is beloved in the country. Now, the last surviving original hand-tap tattoo artist from Kalinga has also captured the attention of New York-based media company Great Big Story (GBS), which just featured her in a new video.
The video posted on GBS’ Facebook page earlier today is only a little over 2 minutes long but is enough to give those unfamiliar with Whang-od an introduction to who she is and why she’s so special.
“In the village of Buscalan, lives a woman who is the last of her kind,” the video starts — a fitting description for the living legend.
Whang-od is 101 years old and is the oldest surviving mambabatok (hand-tap tattoo artist) from Kalinga’s Butbut tribe. Travelers from all over the Philippines and the world go on a pilgrimage to the Northern Luzon province just to get a tattoo from her.
She is also revered by art communities in the Philippines and abroad. In June, she was awarded the Dangal ng Haraya by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for her preservation of traditional tattoo practices.
The GBS video also gives an overview of Whang-od’s tattooing process.
“To apply a tattoo, you first need to get coal, then thorns, and then wipes,” Whang-od shares on the video. “The hammer I use is from a coffee tree. The thorn I use is from calamansi or pomelo fruit trees.”
The artist also talks about how unlike before, anyone can now get a traditional Kalinga tattoo.
“During the old times, men could only have a tattoo if they killed someone,” she said. Tattoos were traditionally reserved for warriors of the Butbut tribe.
While she may be the last original mambabatok, Whang-od said that she thinks the tradition will continue for years to come.
“This traditional tattoo will last forever,” she says at the end of the video.
GBS’s Facebook video had 90,000 views, close to 3,00 reactions, more than 1,000 shares, and more than 200 comments as of posting time. The same video uploaded on YouTube yesterday had more than 62,00 views and more than 270 comments.
GBS is a CNN-backed media company known for covering unique stories from around the world.
