103-year-old tattoo artist defies gender norms and keeps an ancient tradition alive [Video]

Whang-od may be one of many coolest individuals on Earth. 

The 103-year-old Filipino tattoo artist is maintaining an historical artwork alive. Whang-od is a mambabatok or conventional Kalinga tattooist. She creates everlasting hand-tapped tattoos fabricated from pine soot and water. Like so many others from around the globe, YouTuber Jack Shirley and his spouse Louise traveled from Hong Kong just to meet the artist. 

Whang-od does her apply within the mountainous northern Philippines in Buscalan. To achieve her the Shirley and Louise journey by bus, bike and on foot to the distant space. After they arrive she is already onerous at work tattooing a buyer. 

The artist makes use of pure instruments like a bamboo stick, pomelo tree thorn, water and coal for the tattoos. When it’s Louise’s flip for a tattoo on her again, Whang-od begins by outlining the design with a rice stalk. To create every tattoo she makes use of the bamboo and thorn, like a hammer and chisel, to faucet the ink into the pores and skin. Shirley says she does 100 faucets per minute in the video. When Whang-od is completed she coats Louise’s tattoo in coconut oil to guard and heal it. 

Every of the mambabatok’s tattoos has a particular that means and is completed in conventional linework. Louise opted for a serpent eagle which suggests “heavenly steerage, safety and braveness.” She additionally provides her signature to every piece which is three dots in a vertical line. 

The Kalinga province is understood for its valiant indigenous group who thwarted colonization. Initially, solely Butbut warriors might get inked after killing somebody, whereas girls might get them as an adornment. Whang-od defied gender norms to turn out to be a tattooist at age 15. The custom can solely be handed on by the bloodline, so she is at present educating her grand-nieces the apply.

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