Van Od, the oldest tattoo artist in the world

At 104, Wang-Od is the last traditional Filipino tattoo artist. From her small village nestled in the heart of the mountains and green nature of the Kalinga province, she holds in her hands the art of her ancestors, which attracts visitors from all over the world who are ready to embark on the long journey to get a tattoo. living legend.

Van Od, keeper of the traditional Kalinga tattoo

Maria Oggay, nicknamed Van Od, was born in February 1917 in the province of Kalinga in the center of Luzon Island, located north of the Philippine archipelago. Daughter Mambabatok - you understand "tattooist" in Tagalog - it was his father who taught him the art of tattooing from his teenage years. Extremely gifted, her talent has not escaped the villagers. She soon becomes the number one tattoo artist and is gradually being talked about in neighboring villages. Wang-Od, with her slender figure, laughing eyes, neckline and hands covered with indelible patterns, is one of the few women. Mambabatok and the last tattoo artist of the Boothbooth tribe. Over the course of several years, her fame expanded beyond Buscalan, her home village, where she still lives and has been tattooing for over 80 years.

Kalinga tattoo: much more than art

The aesthetic and symbolic Kalinga tattoo allows you to capture the different stages of your life. Originally for men, tradition required that every warrior who killed an enemy in battle by beheading him had an eagle tattooed on his chest. For women who have reached puberty, it has been customary to decorate their hands to make them more attractive to men. So at the age of 15, Van-Od, on the orders of his father, made himself a tattoo of various meaningless drawings, just to attract the attention of potential future husbands.

Ancient technique

Who says ancestor tattoo speaks of old-fashioned methods and materials. Whang-Od uses the thorns of fruit trees - such as orange or grapefruit - as needles, a wooden stick made from a coffee tree that acts like a hammer, cloth napkins, and charcoal mixed with water to create ink. His traditional arm tattoo technique was called против is to dip the needle in charcoal ink and then force this indelible mixture to penetrate deep into the skin by hitting the thorn quite hard with a wooden mallet. To avoid unpleasant surprises, the selected pattern is pre-drawn on the body. This primordial technique is long and painful: an impatient and cozy chorus! In addition, the set of drawings is typical, but very limited. We obviously find tribal and animal motifs, as well as simple and geometric shapes such as snake scales, which symbolize safety, health and strength, a scale of strength and toughness, or even a centipede to be protected.

Each year, thousands of fans travel more than 15 hours by road from Manila, before crossing the forest and paddy fields on foot to meet and subscribe to the heiress of this ancient art. Having no children, Wang-Od was very worried a few years ago that her art might disappear with her. Indeed, the batok technique is traditionally passed down from parent to child. For a good reason, the artist made a slight deviation from the rules by teaching his know-how to two of his great-nieces. So you can breathe, the continuity is guaranteed!