Jhonas Jose Individual Midterm TFA 161 A

Ang Pagbabatok
The traditional tattoo practice of the Kalinga tribe
popularly referred as “batok” is one of the pre-
colonial living practices of art in the Philippines.
The art of traditional tattoo uses bamboo stick,
thorn, and charcoal ink to imprint meaningful tribal
designs viewed to enhance the beauty of Kalinga
women.
While men that gave exceptional service and pride
to their tribe especially the Kalinga warriors or
headhunters who fought their place with other
tribes are rewarded with sacred tattoos that symbolizes their bravery and heroism. These tattoos
are viewed highly as a sacred badge of honor and a social status within their community, a
person who is heavily marked with these ancient tattoos were treated with respect and was
viewed highly by their tribesmen. The tattoos symbolize courage and power that sent fear to
other tribes. Ancient people also believe that tattoos possess spiritual power and magical energy
which gave them extra strength and protection. In women these tattoos are regarded as an
enhancement of their beauty, for fertility, and to serve as a means of clothing. This is the type of
beauty aesthetics women used in their community especially before the age of make-ups we are
familiar today. Only women who have reached the right age are allowed to be inked with
intricate designs to further uplift their features.
These tattoos symbolize feminine beauty for women and
courage for men. To this day the tradition lives on, travelers can
get a tattoo in Kalinga in order to share the beauty of their
tradition. The Kalinga tribe allowed tourists to visit their
community and engage with the practice of tattooing. Moreover,
these tattoos are also one of the tribes source of income. The
prices vary by the different set of designs which helps the
tribesmen gain enough resources to support their basic needs.
The symbolism of these tattoos today is seen as a decorative yet
meaningful art, as per the ancient times it served as a social
representation or class. The people behind this artistry are
referred to as mambabatok. It is a thousand-year-old practice but
now it is facing the challenge to revive the tradition. As the last
living legend to resuscitate the ancient art, Apo Whang-Od
ensures to keep the art of tattooing in her bloodline passing it to her niece and eventually more in
her tribe.
 The process of the ancient art practice of pagbabatok
deals with the traditional method of tattooing, it
starts with acquiring the materials to be used. The
ink is made of a charcoal mixed with water, the
inking is a fine bamboo holding in place the sharp
thorn from calamansi tree and another bamboo stick
holding on the other hand used to tap the stick with
thorn to lay the ink into the skin. A mambabatok has
a wooden plank of Kalinga tattoo designs for the
visitors to choose from. These designs are symbolic
tribal designs that are inspired from nature, designs depict symbols of serpents, eagles, snakes,
centipedes, and ferns. Some tattoos feature linear and circular patterns. The linear ones are
usually placed around the wrist, legs, or arms. Circular ones are commonly placed at the back of
the neck or the forearm.
The meaning of Kalinga tattoo designs holds a very significant part of Kalinga’s history since it
was a thousand-year-old practice, and these tattoo designs are well designed for the specific
symbol and meaning of its own. Every design has a deeper background, but the Kalinga have
adopted English and easily understandable names for each design. If one would like to
know/study the very design of Kalinga tattoo, it is recommended to check the book “Filipino
Tattoos: Ancient to Modern” by Lane Wilcken.

As I tried to apply this process

with my improvised self-made
inking tool which in this case, I
use hair stick as an alternative to
the traditional bamboo stick, a
bobby pin as the thorn and
charcoal ink. the experience with
this method is very intricate and
one must have the patience and
precision to execute the ancient
practice because it took time to
lay the ink neatly and the
precision of tapping the tattoo
stick is crucial as on this skill
depends the outcome of the
tattoo.
I tried it on a piece of paper illustrating the
image of Ginawang, a hawk depicted upright
as a spiritual messenger, implying
communication with the higher realm as
ancestral gods are believed to communicate
via actions and flights of birds. as I am
executing the process, I found it similar with
the technique stippling, a shading technique
using small dots creating a degree of solidity,
shading, and pattern. It took me an hour to
finish this piece, I think it would have been
easier if I used a larger and thicker thorn, in
my case I am using a bobby pin, which
makes it harder and time consuming to lay
the ink on the paper because of its thin point.

References:
https://www.phillife.co/mambabatok-whang-od/
https://medium.com/@alaynepeanopongpong/pagbabatok-a-dying-art-cca9d14b8f9a
https://filipinotattooculture.wordpress.com/
http://followyouroad.com/kalinga-tattoo/