Whang Od Oggay is the oldest traditional tattoo artist in the Philippines, every day he tattoo up to 80 images for tourists from all over the world.
Located among the green rice fields, rolling hills and mountains is the village of Buscalan, where only about 200 people live. The village is in Kalinga province, about 15 hours north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines by car.
A remote countryside
but every year thousands of visitors come to see Whang Od Oggay, the tattoo clothing last mambabatok (traditional tattoo artist) of the Philippines. He is 100 years old this year, and has been doing this job since he was 15 years old.
Sharing with CNN, Mr. Whang Od said: "The tradition remains as long as someone wants to get a tattoo. As long as I can see clearly, I will continue to tattoo. I only quit my job once I can't see anymore."
Traditionally
these hand-painted tattoos were only for the native Butbut warriors. "When they kill a person they get another tattoo on their body," said Whang Od.
As for women, tattoos are often seen as "beauty accessories". "In the old days, Filipino women thought that having a tattoo would make you look much better," recalls Whang, a young man, and his friends tattooed their arms and legs.
However nowadays the warriors are all dead, these hand tattoos can be tattooed on anyone. Every symbol, from lines to circles, animals or tribal codes... carries a meaning. Many tattoos also represent natural elements such as mountains, the sun or birth, strength.
He works with tattooing techniques that have existed for thousands of years, but the tool only requires thorns from the pomelo tree, a bamboo stick about 30 cm long, black stains from an old pot, and water.
With great concentration
she drew a figure on the client's skin with homemade ink from the viking jersey pot. Then tattoo by tapping your hand little by little with a needle from pomelo thorns and bamboo sticks on the drawn image. This tattoo is equally painful with modern tattooing today.
This tattoo art can only be passed down through blood relationships, carrying with it the belief that tattoos will spread more widely. She is teaching tattooing to her two nieces, Elyang Wigan and Grace Palicas.