Whang-od Oggay is the 103-year-old last traditional tattooist of the Kalinga people in the Philippines. She tattoos tourists in the traditional method of using charcoal, water and a thorn. She is based in Buscalan village in the mountains of Kalinga and tourists must travel there through the mountains to get a tattoo from her. She was tattooing warriors at age 15 and today continues the tradition by tattooing tourists with the help of her two nieces, using traditional Kalinga symbols.

1. THE OLDEST TATTOO
ARTIST IN THE WORLD

2. Whang-od Oggay is
the oldest tattoo
artist in the world.
She was born on
February 17, 1917.
She is 103 years old.

3. She is from Buscalan, Kalinga, Philippines.
To get a tattoo from her, you must travel
through the mountains of Kalinga.

4. She is part of the
Butbut people, an
ethnic group in
Kalinga.
She is the last
mambabatok or
traditional Kalinga
tattooist.

5. When she was 15 years old, she tattooed
warriors who earned tattoos by protecting their
village or killing their enemies.

6. Today, she tattoos
tourists from all over
the world with the help
of her 2 nieces.

7. Her style of
tattooing is called
batok or hand-tap
tattooing.
She uses charcoal,
water, and a thorn
from a lemon tree.

8. This is the same tattooing method shown in
Moana (Vaiana).

9. Here are some tourists’ tattoos from Whang-od.

14. Would you like to get a
tattoo from Whang-od
someday?

15. For Arts and Crafts, you are going to
make your own TRIBAL PATTERN.

16. At Whang-od’s place, these
are some of the symbols
you can choose from:
1. sun
2. moon
3. fern
4. traveller
5. scorpion
6. compass
7. prayer
8. holding hands
9. standing eagle
10. arrow head
11. serpent eagle
12. snake
13. centipede

17. Year 1 and Year 2
1. On a piece of paper,
draw a rectangle.
2. Draw 2 lines inside
the rectangle.

18. 3. Choose 3 symbols
and draw them on
each of the columns.
4. Draw them 2 more
times or as many
times as you want.
Voila! You just made your own tribal pattern!

19. 1. On a piece of paper,
draw a rectangle.
2. Divide the rectangle
into 4 parts (or more if
you want.)
Years 3, 4, 5 and 6

20. 3. Draw another line close
to each of the 3 lines
inside the rectangle.
4. Choose 4 symbols from the list
above (one symbol per space in the
rectangle.) You may use any color.
For example: I choose the fern,
centipede, prayer, and snake. So on
each line, I will draw 1 symbol.
Fern Centipede Prayer Snake

21. 5. Repeat each symbol
to fill out each line.
Voila! You now
know how to make
your own tribal
pattern! Don’t
forget to share your
artworks with us!