ARTS 1

First Semester: 2018-2019

5 November 2018

Ronnel Jan C. Laurente

2015-55013

A tempest in a teapot.

That’s what the “controversy” surrounding the alleged exploitation of Whang-ud, the Kalinga tattoo artist

whom many consider a living cultural treasure, is turning out to be.

The whole exercise is a lesson in what can happen when people get their news from social media, where

“viral” doesn’t necessarily mean “verifiable.”

Much of the outrage stemmed from a photograph of the centenarian dozing off during a forum.

Commenters assumed that the old girl must have been exhausted from so much tattooing, hence the cries

of “exploitation.”

Later, family members with her said she was just bored, not being able to understand Filipino or English.

Spokespeople for the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), the event

organizers, explained that Whang-ud herself tattooed only a handful of selected clients. Most of the

tattooing was done by her two apprentices, with Whang-ud adding only her signature three dots later.

By then, the proverbial toothpaste was out of the tube, and government—in the form of a party-list group

representing senior citizens and the Department of Tourism—had joined the fray.
In what has become typical of online discourse, the more thoughtful, reasonable voices were drowned out

by louder, hyperventilating ones. ​Eric S. Caruncho (2017) The Natives vs. the Netizens: Did anybody ask

Whang-ud?, Inquirer.net/Philippine Daily Inquirer

The excerpt above is from an online news article a year ago that caused a huge debate in the interwebs

especially with the Redditors, and here’s what some of them have got to say:

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Sources:

Article:

https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/277265/natives-vs-netizens-anybody-ask-whang-ud/?utm_term=Autofeed&ut

m_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1509231593

Reddit thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/79j0p6/the_natives_vs_the_netizens_did_anybody_ask/

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In my humble opinion, us people especially the filipinos should be honest with themselves instead of

being part of the whole “preserving the culture” ideology. As if the ​mambabatok ​style of tattooing is the

“only” thing that defines the Igorots and their culture. If I were to be real, I’m sure a lot of us know that

even those who got tattooed just so they can prove that they are “preserving the culture” look down on the

Igorots in general. Most of them only care about the tattoo itself but consider other aspects of the culture

actively practiced by the Igorots as inferior.

Why do we only focus our attention on a 101 year old lady when a lot of contemporary modern tattoo

artists have adopted or at least incorporated the ​mambabatok s​ tyle to their own? It is more likely that if we

patronize and support these modern tattoo artists, the methodology, the history and the culture can be

preserved. Even after Whang-ud is gone, the tattoo style will live on and will be passed down through

time. If all people only want to get this style of tattoo from her because Whang-ud was featured in a

foreign show, then more than likely the practice will die with her.

How the tattoos and "preserving the culture" pretense matters because the Igorots (along with other

indigenous groups) have been and are continuously being discriminated. Also, when it comes to certain

aspects of indigenous culture, like the ​mambabatok style being featured by foreigners, it becomes a huge

trend, which can be a good thing. But sad part is, the people who jumps on the bandwagon do not even

realize the plight of the indigenous people like the Igorot. To further prove my point, I would like to use

“Carrot Man” as an example. A UP professor implied that the reason he has a “pointy nose” is because

the caucasian missionaries of Spain way back from their colonial rule “improved most of our race”, which

is a sign of subconscious discrimination, where being a pure native is considered lesser compared to a

“foreign improved” lineage. Then the media coverage of “Carrot Man” dies off, and people went back to

discriminating the Igorot once again. The case of “Carrot Man” is more of the mainstream filipino people

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being surprised that Igorots actually look “human”, not the subhuman image that are been depicted in

books and the imagination of many filipinos.

So, instead, why can’t we filipinos discuss about the discrimination that we inflict to the indigenous

people (who by the way, are also filipinos) and how appropriation is disadvantageous to them?

By focusing on getting a tattoo from a renowned centenarian artist such as Whang-ud as being trendy and

cool, we ignore the bigger picture, the unpopular subject of discrimination and oppression of indigenous

people like the Igorot, meaning instead of them being considered as humans or as equals, they are treated

as “mascots” to be paraded when we filipinos shout “Pinoy pride!” but then we are afraid to show to the

world other aspects and practices of own indigenous people ( which we consider as “Pinoy pride”) to the

world because we deem them as inferior.