Celebrated Filipina tattoo artist Whang-Od is the cover star of Vogue Philippines' April issue. And at a sprightly 106 years, she's also the oldest person to receive the honour.
Known for her hand-tapping traditional tattoo technique, which traces its roots back thousands of years, Whang-Od, who is also known as Maria Oggay, has recently seen her popularity rise thanks to social media.
"Maria 'Whang-Od' Oggay symbolises the strength and beauty of the Filipino spirit," Vogue Philippines said. "Heralded as the last mambabatok of her generation, she has imprinted the symbols of the Kalinga tribe — signifying strength bravery, and beauty — on the skin of thousands of people who have made the pilgrimage to Buscalan."
Hailing from the Kalinga province in the mountainous region of northern Philippines, Whang-Od is a member of the indigenous Butbut tribe. At 15, she broke tradition by becoming the first woman to practice batok, or hand-tapping tattoo art, which was earlier only exclusively passed on to male members of the tribe.
In its profile of her, Vogue Philippines praised Whang-Od for keeping the tradition alive, which faced near extinction following years of colonisation.
"In those days, unmarked women were considered imperfect, undesirable," it writes. "When the American Catholic missionaries came and built schools in Kalinga, village girls were made to cover their arms with long sleeves. Being tattooed became a point of shame when women ventured to the city, and eventually fewer girls from the succeeding generation continued the tradition as Western concepts of beauty and respectability began to permeate the culture."
As a mambabatok, or master tattoo artist, Whang-Od can only pass on her craft within her bloodlines. And because she doesn't have children of her own, her grandniece Grace Palicas was chosen to be her apprentice. Today, Palicas and her cousin Elyang continue the tradition, tending to hundreds of tourists that make the trek to their village every day.
Whang-Od no longer does intricate tattoos, only signing off with three dots after the chosen artwork is done by her apprentices.
"The 106-year-old's signature three dots representing herself, Grace and Elyang are also ellipses, signifying an open-endedness and a continuation that extends beyond its origins," Vogue Philippines writes.
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
