OLD IS GOLD; WHANG-OD the legendary tattoo artist

                     WHANG -OD 

My full appreciation to this legendary woman of her amazing talent as a tattoo artist ,Aged 102 this coming February 27  and still doing her passion ,hundreds of foreigner came to her to have their tattoos.

     Here is a glimpse of whang-od's life 

Whang-od Oggay (First name pronunciation: [ˈɸɑŋ:ˈəd]; born February 17, 1917),[4] also known as Maria Oggay,[5] is a Filipina tattoo artist from Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines.[6] She is often described as the "last" and oldest mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattooist)[2] and is part of the Butbut people of the larger Kalinga ethnic group.[7]

Whang-od tattooing on June 30, 2016

Born : February 17, 1917 (age 101)

Residence : Tinglayan, Kalinga

Nationality : Filipino

Other names

Maria Oggay[1]

Alternate name spellings:

Whang Od Wang Od Wang Od Fang-od Whang-ud

Known for

Last and oldest practitioner of Kalinga tattooing.[2][3]

Awards

PHL Order of Lakandula.png

Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan

She has been tattooing headhunters and women of the indigenous people of Butbut in Buscalan, Kalinga, since she was 15 years old, but the Butbut warriors who used to earn tattoos through protecting villages or killing enemies no longer exist. Despite that, Whang-od continues to apply her traditional art form to tourists visiting Buscalan.

There have been proposals to have Whang-od as one of the National Artists of the Philippines or as one of the National Living Treasures due to her status as the last mambabatok of her generation, her role in promoting awareness on the thousand-years tradition of batok, and her training of several practitioners, including her two grandnieces, Grace Palicas and Ilyang Wigan. She has been featured in various events and television shows highlighting her life and her tattoo works. Her nomination to the National Living Treasures (GAMABA or Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan in Tagalog) was officially received by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts on October 21, 2017, for deliberations. The Philippine Senate also unanimously passed a resolution supporting and nominating her to the GAMABA on February 28, 2018. In June 25, 2018, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts conferred to Whang-od the prestigious Dangal ng Haraya Award at Tabuk, Kalinga, the capital of Whang-od's home province.[8][9][10][11]

RECOGNITION

    Due to Whang-od's status as the last mambabatok of her generation,[35] her role in bringing awareness to a form of traditional tattooing and training several practitioners,[16][27] many netizens were lobbying her to be one of the National Artists of the Philippines. A hashtag campaign (#WangOdNationalArtist) started on September 2015 and the hashtag was shared through social media about 11 thousand times after almost a month.[36] Some netizens were campaigning for her to be given the National Living Treasures Award instead.[37]

In 2015, then Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago urged her colleagues in the Philippine Senate through a resolution that Whang-od should be nominated as one of the National Living Treasures (GAMABA or Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan in Tagalog), who are of equal rank to National Artists.[38][39] Senator Nancy Binay through a senate resolution in June 2016 enjoined the Philippine senate to nominate Whang-od as a National Living Treasure.[40] Likewise, her nomination as National Artist or National Living Treasure has been backed by Senator and United Nations ambassador Loren Legarda through a separate Senate resolution.[41]

Former National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA) chair Felipe de Leon Jr. also expressed his support for Whang-od's nomination and argued that the role of a mambabatok is to become the beacon of togetherness and support of the community.[42] He also added that she aids her community through tattooing tourists and she is practicing traditional Kalinga art form as means of living and therefore should be eligible for both the National Living Treasure Award and the National Artists Award.[42] Filipino anthropologist and University of the Philippines Baguio professor Analyn Salvado-Amores said that though she has no objections on Whang-od's nomination to the GAMABA, Whang-od might not get conferred because she earns from tattooing and one of the requirement for a GAMABA award is to practice the craft without making any profit from it. However, if the raised issue would hinder her declaration as National Living Treasure, then she may still be nominated for the National Artist Award, which is same in rank to the National Living Treasure Award.[30]

Whang-od was formally nominated to the National Living Treasures Award during the 66th Manila Fame event on October 21, 2017.[43][44] The nomination was accepted by the NCCA through a ceremony within the event.[35] NCCA is finalizing the documents to confer Whang-od and have the Philippine President to sign it.[15] Once conferred, Whang-od would get a gold medallion, a monthly allowance of Php 14,000 and a starting grant of Php 100,000.[15] In February 28, 2018, the Senate of the Philippines unanimously passed a resolution supporting and nominating Whang-od for the GAMABA.[45]

In June 12, 2018, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts announced that the prestigious Dangal ng Haraya Award will be given to Whang-od on June 25 at Tabuk, Kalinga, the capital of Whang-od's home province. The final stages of the GAMABA (National Living Treasures Award) Committee is still ongoing.[46][47][48][49]

Television Appearance

American anthropologist Lars Krutak visited Kalinga in 2007 and documented Whang-od's tattoo works.[13] The episode of Krutak's 10-part series Tattoo Hunter featured on Discovery Channel became the start of presenting the Kalinga culture and Whang-od to a global audience.[15] In 2010, she was also featured in i-Witness, a documentary television program of GMA Network, that was documented by Kara David.[58]

In 2017, Whang-od was featured in the Dayaw series of the NCCA and ABS-CBN News Channel, where her contributions to the country's national identity and heritage were presented by former NCCA Chairman Felipe De Leon Jr. and Senator Loren Legarda.[42] Her life story was featured in Wagas, a GMA News TV's drama series in 2017, where Janine Gutierrez portrayed Whang-od.[29]

Source : Wikipedia

                                     

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