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RE: WHANG-OD: The Last Traditional Tattoo Artist of Kalinga
That's a great story! How long ago was this, and do you know if her grand daughters have taken up the art? I would love to check it out. I have traditional tattoos from Thailand and think it would be cool to travel abroad collecting traditional tattoos from around the world. Thanks for sharing your story!
Hi @webstar! This was just a few months ago. She doesn't have a granddaughter. Only grandnieces. They are now being trained by Apo so that they can continue the art. Collecting Traditional tattoos would be a great idea. I hope I can do the same. I'll research about the tattoos in Thailand that you were talking about. :)
Sorry, grandnieces. I think you mentioned that she wanted to train them, but I wasn't sure they were actually in the process.
The Thai tattoos are called Sak Yant. They are traditional protective buddhist tattoos that are often hindu characters and mantras in sanskrit, since Thailand used to be predominantly Hindu and converted to Buddhism, so it's a bit of a blend of the two. It's hard to find a lot of information on them, but if you look enough you will find what you're looking for and which artist you may want to visit. It's pretty scary though, because they believe it's a protective tattoo, there's nothing sanitary about it. the same needle and ink is used for everyone. Bangkok has over a million people with HIV, so it's a bit of a leap of faith. Luckily I came out unscathed! Good luck in your travels and possible tattoo collection!
I'll check that out. Thanks! The same thing is actually happening with Whang-od but since most of the travellers knew about it they make sure they bring their own wet wipes and always ask Apo to use new needles. I had the same fear before having the tattoo but being extra cautious helped. Good luck on your travels as well!