Old Whang-od
Amid the verdant mountains
Wild rivers and slopes
Reside the countless culture
And the mambabatok
The tattoos etched on her skin
Flaunts beauty and grace
The history of headhunters
She wears on her face
Old Whang-od taps the bamboo
And the tattoo session begins
Officious tribal patterns—
Ethic outlines worth the pain
The tapping sound of bamboo stick
Sends a hum of thrill and fear
For at the end of the citrus thorn
The charcoal ink shall smear your soul
© 2017 Maria. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Credit: Lantaw
In response to dVerse’s Tuesday Poetics: Artisan.
Tending the bar for Poets Pub today is Kim who challenge us to write a poem about an artisan or wright emulating the style of Irish poet, Seamus Heaney.
This one is a tribute to the 99-year-old Whang-od who is considered as the last mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattooist) from the Butbut tribe in Buscalan, Kalinga and the oldest tattoo artist in the Philippines.
Head over here to join the fun:
DoodleScribbles 
January 18, 2017 at 4:58 pm
Thank you so much, Maria, for introducing us to this marvellous woman and her craft. She beats those guys at Miami Ink hands down. I love the way you set the scene in the first stanza and then introduce your artisan, described so well and complemented by the the photograph – she’s an awesome, colourful,character with
‘The history of headhunters
She wears on her face’.
Tattooing is indeed an art, especially the ancient
‘Officious tribal patterns—
Ethic outlines worth the pain’.
That ‘tapping sound of bamboo stick’ is certainly ominous – no wonder the charcoal ink smears souls.
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January 19, 2017 at 1:29 pm
And thank you too for the prompt, Kim. I’m happy to know you enjoyed this as much as I do. I do apologize I missed Seamus Heaney style.. I forgot to emulate the syllable count and rhymes. 🙂
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January 18, 2017 at 5:58 pm
Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
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January 19, 2017 at 1:33 pm
Thank you~ 🙂
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January 18, 2017 at 7:25 pm
What a wonderful story of a skill that seems to fade… very impressed by her skill with skin.
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January 19, 2017 at 1:34 pm
I’m afraid that is true. The old tradition seems fading. It’s great that Whang-od has started to train her great-grand daughter.
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January 18, 2017 at 8:19 pm
Nice last line: “The charcoal ink shall smear your soul”
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January 19, 2017 at 1:38 pm
Thank you, Frank! 🙂
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January 18, 2017 at 9:23 pm
I read and watched this one before, amazing woman! I admire her for sticking to her old tribal ways. Your last stanza is lovely:
The tapping sound of bamboo stick
Sends a hum of thrill and fear
For at the end of the citrus thorn
The charcoal ink shall smear your soul
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January 19, 2017 at 1:42 pm
Thank you, Grace. I do hope old ways remain… there’s too much beauty in the past that the future generation deserves to learn and see.
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January 18, 2017 at 9:53 pm
Maria, this is a beautiful tribute to this amazing madam!
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January 19, 2017 at 1:53 pm
Thank you, Muse. Yes, she is an amazing woman. 🙂
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January 19, 2017 at 11:33 pm
You’re most welcome, Maria. 🙂
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January 18, 2017 at 10:57 pm
What a wonderful history here in your beautiful words. Primitive, and painful, and displayed in full color.
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January 19, 2017 at 1:53 am
An excellent tribute to Whang-od Maria. Your poetry sets a vivid scene and works in tandem with the video. The last verse brings to life this ancient way of tattooing.
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January 19, 2017 at 1:58 pm
Thank you, D! Watching at how she do it makes me realize how our old ways have changed and evolved through time. It feels great to know that amid the modern era, there are people like Whang-od who still preserve our traditions.
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January 19, 2017 at 2:33 pm
I agree Maria. I love to see where our cultures and traditions came from, although having had a couple of tattoos I think I prefer the less painful modern methods 🙂
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January 19, 2017 at 4:39 pm
Ha! The traditional tattoo takes longer, I can only imagine the pain…
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January 19, 2017 at 5:47 pm
You can see it on the face of one of the men being tattooed. It makes you cringe just watching it Maria.
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January 19, 2017 at 4:14 am
Wonderful tribute story to Whang-od.
The video is amazing. 🙂
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January 19, 2017 at 1:59 pm
Thanks, Charlie! Glad you enjoyed the video.
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January 20, 2017 at 1:05 am
🙂 🙂
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January 19, 2017 at 6:51 am
Kudos to you for using a real & rare artisan to the Pub, & to our lives. You get the accolade for creative originality for sure. Tatts have never seemed “cool” to me, but all three of my daughters have a slew of them–body art indeed.
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January 19, 2017 at 4:30 pm
Thank you for the generous, kind words Glenn. 🙂
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January 19, 2017 at 8:21 am
Fascinating ! Thanks for the intro — I love ink.
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January 19, 2017 at 4:32 pm
Thank you, Sabio!
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January 19, 2017 at 12:38 pm
Worthy tribute to this amazing woman. Thanks for sharing this, Maria. Love the last line.
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January 19, 2017 at 4:33 pm
My pleasure, 🙂 I’m happy you appreciate the history. Thank you!
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January 19, 2017 at 10:39 pm
Loved the poem. Loved the wee film. Fantastic stuff. The world willbe a lesser place without the likes of Fang Do
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January 20, 2017 at 4:47 pm
Wow. Wow. Such a lovely ode my dear!
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January 21, 2017 at 9:37 am
Oh wow, Maria. This is, words can’t express how awesome this poem is. Amazing tribute to an amazing woman.
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January 22, 2017 at 1:22 pm
Great post
Amazing
Visit mine
http://shivashishspeaks.wordpress.com/
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January 24, 2017 at 8:18 pm
This was a lovely piece – so visual. Co-incidentally, it was but a few days back that I came to know about this lady that you wrote about. Apparently she is some 90 some years of age and her tattoos are much sought after. Her traditional style of etching as well as designs is something that brings travelers from far to her.
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