A perilous trip to the northern Philippines to get a tattoo from Whang Od, the oldest practitioner of her art – no pain, no gain
- Thousands have made the treacherous journey to Buscalan to be inked by the 100-year-old tattooist
- Tourism has brought money and outsiders to the remote province, once home to headhunters
I am trying to adjust to the constantly unpredictable conditions but I cannot foresee the near-fatal mishap that lies ahead …
The Cordillera Central, a high mountain range about 320km long and 65km wide, is home to ethno-linguistic groups such as the Kalinga, Ifugao, Bontoc, Ilongot, Sagada Igorot and Apayao, each with their own dialect and customs. And all former headhunters.
Although long outlawed, the practice of taking heads continued until the late 1970s and the belief persists that these trophies attest to the valour of the warrior and will bring good fortune to his village. We are on our way to meet a woman who has tattooed many headhunters and has become a legend as the oldest living practitioner of her art.
We started this journey in tropical Manila, two days earlier. This morning we breakfasted at a mist-shrouded cafe, where my wife and daughter stood out in their city clothes among the well-wrapped women with sturdy builds and weather-beaten faces who were fuelling up on lechon (roast suckling pig), beef, fried egg and ampalaya (bitter melon) before another back-breaking day of planting rice.
Together with our burly driver, Pudong, who sports a small goatee and a stud in his ear, and our slightly built, soft-spoken guide, Abegail Fernandico, we have looked up at towering peaks and down into green valleys with sculpted rice terraces. We have passed trucks sidelined by accidents, and jeepneys with rooftops packed with passengers and pigs sheltering from the rain under tarpaulin.
