Demystifying Whang –od

June 18, 2022 Opinion

Maria Oggay, known to the world as “Whang-od,” sits calmly on a small homemade bangkito [small bench], as people flood and invade her small house which had been renovated to accommodate more visitors.

Whang-od, from the Butbut tribe in Kalinga, is single, childless, and with a distinct sense of humor that might only come from the world-renowned mambabatok, (traditional Kalinga tattooist).

As you approach her with reverence, she will stare back at you with her old eyes, slowly warming up to a wide smile, as if revealing the mystery of her person.

The eldest in a brood of seven, she takes care of her extended family of granddaughters, nieces, and siblings with her daily earnings from tattooing a multitude. Despite her fame, she remains unassuming and unaffected by it. Whang-od’s house is located at the entrance of Buscalan village, in the municipality of Tinglayan, Kalinga province.

It can reach through a hike from the two-kilometer paved road starting from the point where vehicles unload their passengers. Depending on one’s endurance to heat and the steep route, the hike may take an hour or two. As you arrive huffing and puffing, Whang-od would greet you with a smirk and tease you to get a tattoo. She would scoff when you say you’d be content to just have her signature [three dots] and would coax you to choose from the designs displayed.

It would be hard to resist. Whang–od’s humor is like that, dry and always surprising. However, her humor is sometimes misunderstood.

Recently, Buscalan was rocked with controversy when a film and television studio posted compiled photos of Whang-od clutching the genitals of some of her male clients with a satisfied smile on her face.

The social media post went viral, eliciting varied responses from netizens. A Kalinga elder slammed the studio for the malicious compilation which made Whang-od a laughing stock and the butt of green jokes. Whang-od is indeed into the habit of groping her male clients to elicit laughs and after feeling them up, would announce “bassit” [small]! She’d then laugh her heart out to break the tension of having a traditional tattoo.

Whang–od’s tattooing ink is a mixture of charcoal and water which is tapped into the skin with the use of a thorn from a lemon or pomelo tree. The Kalinga hand-tapped tattoo technique is called “Batok” which dates back a thousand years.

Whang-od is said to be the oldest mambabatok and the last of the breed, but Whang-od has no proof for such claims. She has no birth certificate to attest she is 100, only a postal identification (ID) card issued by the Philippine Postal Service, making her eligible for the Centenarians Act. But she does not care. She would smile when asked about her age. Whang-od is also said to be the last living traditional tattoo artist in the province.

However locals say there are more tattoo artists in neighboring villages, but none are as famous as she. Grace Palicas and Elyang Wigan, grandnieces and heirs apparent, said Whang–od’s strength and longevity come from her being childless. “Buong buo pa ang lakas niya, [Her strength is full],” they said, adding that their aunt has provided for all their needs.

Whang-od would only smile and laugh a lot when asked why she never married. She said it is her “gasat” (destiny) to be single and to live a long life. She’d smile every time her love life is brought up, as it is rumored that she had plenty of lovers.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) conferred the Dangal ng Haraya for Intangible Cultural Heritage to Whang-Od.

The NCCA said Whang-od has stood witness to the changing landscape of the province and has stood resilient, strong, and dedicated to preserving what has been passed on to her by her elders and for making the community a vessel of age-old wisdom. Whang-od was recognized for being a bearer of Filipino indigenous identities and living traditions.

The NCCA acknowledged the contributions of Whang-od in the promulgation and preservation of Butbut- Kalinga traditional tattoo known as “fatok or whatok” and engendering awareness of Philippine traditional arts and practices and intangible cultural heritage in general.

Whang-od will continue to mystify the world with her art, inking a multitude who will flock to her small village and spur tourism for the town and its residents and yes, continue to shock with her humor.