Meet Phillipines' Apo Whang-od, The World’s Oldest Tattoo Artist

Just like many other things in the world, our perception of a tattoo artist is stereotyped. When talking about a tattoo artist, we imagine a young man with an ultra-modern look. This is because very few know about Apo Whang-Od from the Philippines, the oldest living tattoo artist in the world. Whang-Od, born either in 1917 or 1919 according to different sources, is recognized as the world’s oldest tattoo artist. She is the last traditional Kalinga tattooist, known as a Mambatok. She does not live in an urban place but a remote village called Buscalan.

Apo Whang-Od, also known as Maria Ogge, has been tattooing skin since she was 15 years old. Her clientele and reputation have spread beyond the Cordillera region. Today, thousands of people from all over the world visit her, to get themselves tattooed by the 107-year-old. According to folklore and interviews conducted by tattoo anthropologist Dr. Lars Krutak, Whang-Od was 15 when she began her work as a tattoo artist under the mentorship of her father. The first and only Mambatok woman of her time, Whang-Od would travel far and wide to other villages.

She specialises in the batok, a traditional indigenous Filipino tattoo. Originating from the pre-Hispanic Philippine people of the 16th century, batok has now grown exceptionally popular thanks to Whang-Od. Batok has a history spanning over a thousand years. Men and women from this region have decorated their bodies with these tattoos, which are hand-poked using a special tool made from a bamboo stick and a thorn called a gisi. Over the years, the practice declined due to efforts by Catholic missionaries to eliminate it, growing social disdain, and eventual prohibition by the military. Whang-Od has single-handedly kept the art alive by being the only living tattoo artist to practice the art.

Whang-Od’s husband died when she was just 25. She had no children, yet she did not remarry. She believes that if someone outside the lineage starts tattooing, the tattoo will become infected. But she now trains people in her community in her art.