First time ko nalaman ang tungkol sa Kalinga women when I've watched Kara David's documentary about them last year when I was still in Saudi. I was fascinated with these women and the tribal art of tattooing sa katawan nila. According to them the tatoo symbolizze beauty to the women, the more tatoo you have the beautiful you are.
Sila rin ang dahilan kaya i want to join Dong with his Kalinga trip, yun lang the tribe's houses was located far from Luplupa! It's a 2 hour drive from our place and since it was Holy Friday walang byahe papunta sa place na yon =(.
Though we didn't got a chance to visit their place, I'm having a great time naman chilling out in Luplupa and bonding time with my friends. Then I was suprised when Dong came one afternoon smiling and he told me there are tatooed women living in Luplupa! Then without missing a beat, we hurriedly went to the place where this two women lived.
Funny thing is these women lived just outside our place! They are one of the old people living in Luplupa, and there are two of them so me and Dong have our own Mona Lisa.
According to Kara David, only the old women have this tatoo, the younger ones doesn't want it because 1). it hurts 2). they don't fnd it pretty. Though I think the art Kalinga tattoo is one tribal culture that they should be proud of. The intricate design is so good, it's much better than the tattoo here in the city. Also the ink of the tattoo or the skin doesn't turn green once they grow old, unlike the tattoo here in the city (i've seen so many tattoo in Bilibid prison, one thing that is common to the prisoner is the greenish skin tone on the part of the tattoo).
Most of the tattoo are mostly located in the shoulder and arms of the women. Can't imagine the pain they have to ordeal just to become beautiful.
I'd like to thank the old lady of Luplupa for allowing me to take pictures of her and showing me her tattoo. We promised (me and Dong) to give the hard copy of the pictures to them also. I just hope that the culture of tattooing would still continue for more years to come.
7 comments:
Sooo beautiful. Talk about art! Would love to have a tattoo like that... Hay.
whoa, now seeing this tattooed lady makes your 9-hour bus trip worth while. ang galing. what do their tattoos signify? at bakit daw sa shoulders lang?
tama ka, masakit sa area na yan. joints!
good post Theo. i learned something new. =)
@Pinay travel junkie, yeah ganda nga ng tattoo nila. kaso masakit gawin yun! very intricate kasi ang design. oi btw, love your blog, i learned a lot sa pagkuha ng china visa!!!
@chyng, pag may tattoo ka daw, the more you have the beautiful you are. yun ang sabi nila. sa arms and shoulder ang common because ito yung madaling makita. though yung iba have their complete back and front filled with tattoo!
hi pinay travel junkie! yeah ganda nga ng art of tattooing nila. kaso masakit ata gawin yun! hey, love your post about sri lanka, china and india ha! winner!
hahaha, no pain no gain! pero mukhang masakit tlaga yan.. :)
it was a great experience to see the last of them... hopefully not.
masakit talaga sha tina.korek k dyan!
sana nga may magpatuloy pa ng art na to dom.
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