For every Filipino traveler like me, being able to see Apo Whang Od in the flesh and get inked by her is part of the bucketlist. And for a reason: she is the last traditional tattoo artist of her generation and it is a privilege to witness or experience how she executes her art called pambabatok.
Apo Whang od, or Whang-od Oggay Maria, has reached the age of 100 in 2017 according to the people living in her village. She lives on top of a mountain in Buscalan, Tinglayan in Kalinga, located in the northern part of Luzon, Philippines.
Considered as the oldest mambabatok, Apo Whang Od is most famous for her tattoo art. Next would be her habit of grabbing the crotches of her male guests, popular among travelers at least, and her fascination with celebrity Coco Martin.
No issue with the last one whatsoever. She can go gaga over Piolo Pascual or Empoy all she wants, but her crotch-grabbing I had an issue with.
I called out this habit of hers once in my Twitter account before I got to visit Apo. See this screenshot of her kaharutan below:
My concern was double standards. What if a traditional male tattooist did this to female visitors? Wouldn’t that be deemed disgusting, more so scandalous?
I set that idea aside, and instead looked forward to my visit Buscalan and meet Apo. Especially at that time when reports say that her health is already deteriorating considering her age. I badly wanted to get inked by Apo.
Eventually, that happened.
Lemuel, my friend from college who is also a traveler, joined me in my journey to get my first ever tattoo courtesy of the famous tattooist. Originally, he didn’t want an ink but I was able to convince him upon arriving there.
We left Manila on the night of September 29 in 2017 joining a travel group organized by Awra Adventures (recommended!). There were 13 or 14 of us packed in a van heading to the north.
The group took a stopover in Banaue for breakfast and some picture taking with the famous rice terraces. That’s where I got this photo posted in my other Steemit blog.
Here is our group:
Before lunchtime, we reached Tinglayan. Upon unloading from the van, with a pained ass after the long drive, I saw how steep the mountain we were about to hike. That’s where I told myself that I should have taken my cardio at the gym more seriously.
Regrets come last indeed. It was a short yet difficult hike, as I was always catching my breath and taking regular breaks. Our tour guide, who is a female teenager, said it would only take 15 minutes on average to reach the peak but being the inexperienced mountaineers that we are, of course it was longer.
As soon as we found ourselves at Buscalan village, on top of the mountain, we settled at the house we rented.
Apo wasn’t available for an inking session that time and said that she would entertain guests the next day. So we opted to go around the village and be immersed with the Butbut tribe where Apo is part of.
Few locals speak and understand Tagalog, including our tour guides slash hosts. The rest, like Apo, speak a language that none of our group could comprehend.
That day, we got to try their local coffee, which is one of the best coffees I have tasted. Our hosts prepared enough to fill our stomachs.
It was September 30. I got inked for the first time by one of the Buscalan kids who are considered grandchildren of Apo through her siblings. The great tattooist never wed.
This kid, whose name I already forgot, extends the tattooing legacy of Apo. She was the one who inked me!
By then, I discovered that the grandchildren, more than a dozen of them, go around the houses and tattoo the guests in behalf of Apo since the old woman could no longer ink large tattoos. The new system lets the kids do the large ones and make Apo ink a signature – only three dots – after them.
Pambabatok involves thorns, soot, and a bamboo hammer, by the way. Many of my colleagues say that it is more painful than getting a tattoo through a needle. But in my experience, the pain was tolerable.
Sa umpisa lang ang sakit, promise!
I picked the traveler tattoo, well, because I am a traveler. At first I was confused on where to place it – at the center of my back or the arms – finally deciding to get my first ink on the left portion of my back. Here is the tattoo while it was fresh:
Sorry for my skin blemishes!
The cardinal rule is to not let the tattoo touch anything for two days including water, because doing otherwise might cause an infection. That means no shower or bath for me, which I willingly complied. For this I had difficulty sleeping – I got my tattoo in my back, damn it! I sleep with my back laid flat on the bed.
But all was well in the morning. On October 1, we patiently lined up at the tattoo station and waited for Apo Whang Od there.
After a long while, it was my turn. I sat calmly – with some tension – with my back turned against Apo for her to put a signature just below my traveler tattoo.
For Apo to ink the three dots as a signature, the tattoo by the kids should be perfect. Unfortunately, the one inked on me wasn’t – Apo’s quality control is so high – so she let me chose another body site to put the three dots.
I picked my left chest. The decision was random.
So there she was, performing her traditional art on me. It is indeed a different feeling. I have been marked by Apo Whang Od herself! That was ticked off my bucketlist.
After the tattooing session, with the taunting of my travel group, Apo, with slight hesitation, grabbed my crotch.
I was smiling the entire time as evidenced in the picture, but I swear I was so shy as she might say something that would ruin my reputation.
But it was otherwise.
She shouted, “Malaki!” for everyone in the 4- or 5-meter radius to hear. I got stares, especially from women.
Defensively, I later said to the group that size is relative. What’s malaki to her can be small to others. I did that mostly because I did not want to disappoint in case the rumor spreads beyond those who have heard Apo’s remarks. *winks*
During and after the crotch-grabbing experience, I forgot my virtue of double standards, at least with Apo’s famous habit.
I realized that it is her thing. It does not have to be anyone else’s. It can be considered as a tradition which means to say that while it can be wrong, it was still accepted.
We reached Manila on the night of October 1, with lots of stories to tell my grandchildren in the future.
“Kids, I was grabbed on the crotch by a 100-year-old tattoo artist living in a mountain, 40 years ago. It was an amazing experience – no, not the crotch grabbing – but the tattooing.”