Whang-Od is the last practitioner of the head hunting Kalinga tribe of the Philippines' art of tattooing.
She was presumably born in 1917 but because there weren't birth certificates issued in that place and time, no one really has an actual official record of her real age.
Their tribal traditional tattooing art was mainly used to adorn the bodies of their tribe's warriors, to celebrate their kills and the heads of their enemies which they bring back home from their battles (this is why they were labeled as head hunters).
The women they tattoo for embellishment, to make them attractive and in preparation for marriage.
Documentaries
Numerous reporters and visitors to their tribe have covered Whang-Od through the years after the world first got to know about her when she was in her late 80s and early 90s. She probably first became widely known outside her tribe through a documentary aired by the Discovery Channel.
1904 World's Fair
To put her in perspective, the Kalinga head hunting tribe was part of several Filipino tribes featured in the Philippine Exhibit in the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.
The tattooed head-hunting, dog-eating tribes of the Philippine Exhibit was by far the biggest attraction of the 1904 fair.
Whang-Od was still a teenager when she started tattooing the headhunters and other women of their tribe. She learned this art from her father. This was well before the second world war.
To put her in perspective, the Kalinga head hunting tribe was part of several Filipino tribes featured in the Philippine Exhibit in the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.
The tattooed head-hunting, dog-eating tribes of the Philippine Exhibit was by far the biggest attraction of the 1904 fair.
Whang-Od was still a teenager when she started tattooing the headhunters and other women of their tribe. She learned this art from her father. This was well before the second world war.
Their tribal traditional tattooing art was mainly used to adorn the bodies of their tribe's warriors, to celebrate their kills and the heads of their enemies which they bring back home from their battles (this is why they were labeled as head hunters).
The women they tattoo for embellishment, to make them attractive and in preparation for marriage.
Documentaries
Numerous reporters and visitors to their tribe have covered Whang-Od through the years after the world first got to know about her when she was in her late 80s and early 90s. She probably first became widely known outside her tribe through a documentary aired by the Discovery Channel.
Oldest
Today, Whang-Od is over a hundred years old. Their tribe's art and tradition will live on after she has passed on through two grand nieces who have been her apprentices.
We can watch a documentary about her below. This is about two individuals who went to the Philippines to visit the mountain top where Whang-Od's tribe lives in the hope of getting inked by the legendary Philippine national artist.
Today, Whang-Od is over a hundred years old. Their tribe's art and tradition will live on after she has passed on through two grand nieces who have been her apprentices.
We can watch a documentary about her below. This is about two individuals who went to the Philippines to visit the mountain top where Whang-Od's tribe lives in the hope of getting inked by the legendary Philippine national artist.
Recommended Reading:
THE LAST KALINGA TATTOO ARTIST OF THE PHILIPPINES
LARS KRUTAK, Tattoo Anthropologist
LARS KRUTAK, Tattoo Anthropologist