Philippine tattoo

How did a 106-year-old woman in the rural Filipino mountains become one of the most famous tattoo artists in the world? We travel north to Kalinga to meet the ButBut tribe—and discovers an ancient tradition indelibly inked into our culture

Filipinos keep finding ways to make art out of PPE. These face masks, designed by Jhay Layson, were inspired by the Butbut tribe's traditional tattoos.

Filipino cross

An armband tattoo featuring sampaguita flowers often carries cultural and personal significance. The sampaguita, also known as the Philippine jasmine, is the national flower of the Philippines. It symbolizes purity, simplicity, humility, and strength. In the context of an armband tattoo, it may represent pride in Filipino heritage, a connection to one’s roots, or the embodiment of the qualities that the flower symbolizes. Additionally, armband tattoos can signify continuity, protection, and…

From My Modern Met At 102 years old, Whang-Od Oggay (who also goes by Whang-od or Maria Oggay) is helping to keep an ancient tradition alive in the Kalinga province of the Philippines. She’s the country’s oldest mambabatok, a traditional Kalinga tattooist. Each morning at dawn, Whang-Od wakes to craft a mixture of ink from pine soot and water in preparation to apply hand-tapped tattoos on the bodies of people from around the world. Although many come to see her, their journey is no small…