Whang Od Oggay is the oldest female traditional tattoo artist in the Philippines. Over the years, her reputation has traveled around the world, many journalists and young people come to interview and experience the unique tattoo service. Up to now, tattoo clothing at the rare 103-year-old age, she has not stopped devoting herself to keeping the traditional profession and training the next generation of young tattooists to follow her.
Thanks to the old artist's
story of perseverance in his craft, traditional Filipino tattoos are gaining more attention. They don't mind driving for dozens of hours and then walking through a remote forest road to reach the 103-year-old female tattooist's residence.
To make tattoos imbued with national cultural identity, Ms. Whang Od uses quite rudimentary tools such as sharp sticks made from pomelo tree wood, bamboo sticks, charcoal and water. The above series of traditional tattoos stick to the skin permanently. They are mostly characters, symbols of tribal power.
Previously
this tattoo style was only for men who had killed someone in war. But now anyone who comes to the place and asks for it can get a tattoo.
"My colleagues have all passed away. I'm the custom baseball jersey only one who's still alive. However, I'm not afraid of losing my job because I'm in the process of passing it on to the younger generation," she said. Whang Od told CNN.
A woman named Rajayana Librojo Fajatin shared with Bored Panda that she had the opportunity to get a tattoo by Mrs. Whang Od about a year ago.
The girl said: "The villagers are very friendly. Mrs. Whang Od is old but still healthy and lucid." At that time, Rajayana chose to tattoo an eagle and a snake on her shoulder.