Today my old friend Whang-Od Oggay is featured in this CNN travel video and article (http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/philippines-oldest-tattoo-artist/index.html) by Kate Springer. Enjoy!
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Surrounded by lush rice terraces and undulating landscape, the mountain village of Buscalan is home to just 200 or so households. It rests in the Kalinga province of the Philippines and is about a 15-hour drive north of Manila.
Yet thousands of tourists come here every year to meet Whang Od Oggay, the Philippines’ oldest mambabatok — or traditional Kalinga tattooist. Roughly 100 years old, Whang Od has been performing the ancient art of hand-tapped tattoos since she was 15.
“The tradition will continue as long as people keep coming to get tattoos,” Whang Od tells CNN Travel. “As long as I can see well, I will keep giving tattoos. I’ll stop once my vision gets blurry.”
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To read more about Whang-Og and the Kalinga tradition of tattooing, pick up a copy of my book Kalinga Tattoo or read my article here.