Apo Whang Od to receive prestigious NCCA award

Celebrated Apo Whang Od, one of the oldest living practitioners of whatok, will be receiving the esteemed 2018 Dangal ng Haraya Award for Intangible Cultural Heritage on June 25 at 5pm in Kalinga, Capitol Plaza.

On May 2 in Davao City, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, led by National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario, signed a special resolution recognizing the role and status of Whang Od as one of the oldest living traditional mababatok of the Kalinga community.

“Apo Whang Od has long been recognized and respected in her community as a master tattooist. Her practice started in her early adolescence and has since tattooed elders, women, and warriors from her community in the traditional Kalinga practice — using charcoal as ink and calamansi thorns to puncture the skin,” read a portion of the NCCA statement sent to media.

“The commission recognized Whang od ‘as a living vessel of a traditional practice, [who] deserves honor and acknowledgement for her contributions, particularly by bringing to greater attention the indigenous practice of tattooing and Filipino culture in general’,” the statement added.

The Dangal ng Haraya award is given to living Filipino artists, cultural workers, and historians for outstanding achievements in fields they have made an impact on.

Previous recipients of Dangal ng Haraya include Senator Edgardo Angara, Architect Augusto Villalon, and Susan Calo Medina; and current cultural champions Senator Loren Legarda, Dr. Jesus Peralta.

In February, Whang Od was nominated by the Senate for the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) for fostering and preserving the traditional tattoo art of Kalinga. It was introduced by Senators Juan Edgardo Angara and Nancy Binay. — LA, GMA News