In our last episode, Iloilo was the star on NYK's first ever mini travel documentary series.
From the turtle pond, jungle trail and rocky beach of Costa Aguada, we now take you all the way up to BUSCALAN!
Buscalan, home to the Butbut tribe, is a small, quiet village in the mountains of Kalinga in the Philippines.
Less than a decade ago, hardly anyone knew about Buscalan—not until a Western TV show did a feature on the village’s oldest and last ‘Mambabatok,’ or tattoo artist. This paved the way for Buscalan and the Butbut tribe to open its doors to the rest of the world.
Before she became world-famous, Whang Od’s ‘batok’ or tribal tattoos were not freely given—they had to be earned. The rules of tattooing in Kalinga before were very strict. Tattoos were only for warriors who successfully defended their tribe from enemies, while women were inked primarily for aesthetic or fertility purposes.
All that has now changed.
Today, Whang Od, also touted as a National Living Treasure in the Philippines, tattoos an average of 15-20 tourists everyday.
This significant aspect of Buscalan’s culture and tradition stays alive because its preservation is crucial to the Butbut tribe’s survival.
“The Butbut people are kind, but we are also very poor,” says Rudy Oggay, Whang Od’s younger brother. “Access to water here is difficult. When the rains don’t come, we cannot farm,” he adds.
Since the unexpected fame of Whang Od, livelihood for the Butbut tribe has seen a shift from farming to tourism. Many have opted to become guides or porters for tourists visiting Whang Od. Over 30 residences have opened for homestay programs. Souvenir items have also become a village livelihood.
Whang Od is more than a National Artist and a cultural icon—she also has a knack for enterprise. When she recognized the potential that Buscalan’s traditional way of tattooing has in attracting tourists, she taught the skill to her great grandnieces.
Year after year, the number of visitors in Buscalan increases. So does the number of tattooists. With the increase in income that tourism generates, more and more young girls are taking an interest in becoming a mambabatok.
Whang Od, now 102, is still Kalinga’s oldest mambabatok--but definitely no longer the last.
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*Credits to Henrick Crisostomo who handled post production work on this video
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