Filipino tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od has become the oldest person to ever appear on the cover of Vogue at the age of 106.
Vogue Philippines announced last week that Whang-Od would be the magazine’s cover star for its April 2023 issue. Whang-Od, also known by Maria Oggay, is based in Buscalan, a mountain village in Cordillera Region, which is based in the island of Luzon in the Philippines, according to the publication.
The magazine also praised the artist on Instagram for how her works symbolises the “strength and beauty of the Filipino spirit”.
“Heralded as the last mambabatok of her generation, she has imprinted the symbols of the Kalinga tribe—signifying strength, bravery, and beauty—on the skin of thousands of people who have made the pilgrimage to Buscalan,” the magazine wrote in the post alongside a picture from Whang-Od’s cover photoshoot.
Starting her career at age 16 with her father as her mentor, Whang-Od was the only female mambabatok, a traditional Kalinga tattoo artist, of her time. As of 15 years ago, she started working with thousands of customers from outside of the Cordillera Region.
Per Vogue, she has now travelled to neighbouring villages to “imprint the sacred symbols of their ancestors on individuals who have crossed or about to cross a threshold in their lives”.
“When visitors come from far away, I will give them the tatak Buscalan, tatak Kalinga for as long as my eyes can see,” Whang-Od told Vogue in the Butbut language.
Whang-Od is often referred to as the last mambabatok, since these tattoo artists “can only pass on this craft within their bloodlines,” perVogue. While she didn’t have any children, her grand-nieces, Grace Palicas, 26, and Elyang Wigan, 23, will become a part of the next generation of mambabatoks.
“I was the first child to learn how to tattoo. I just observed what she did,” Grace said, as she was chosen to be Whang-Od’s apprentice at age 10. “When I left for college in 2015, Elyang was next to learn so that she could help Apo when so many tourists were coming.”
Back in 2017, Whang-Od first spoke to CNN Travel about her work and how she’s been training her grandnieces.
“The tradition will continue as long as people keep coming to get tattoos,” she said. “As long as I can see well, I will keep giving tattoos. I’ll stop once my vision gets blurry.”
She added: “[My friends who gave tattoos] have all passed away. I’m the only one left alive that’s still giving tattoos. But I’m not afraid that the tradition will end because [I’m training] the next tattoos masters.”
Regarding its April 2023 cover star, Vogue Philippines editor-in-chief, Bea Valdes said choosing Whang-Od was a unanimous decision among the magazine’s staff.
“We felt she represented our ideals of what is beautiful about our Filipino culture,” she told CNN. “We believe that the concept of beauty needs to evolve, and include diverse and inclusive faces and forms. What we hope to speak about is the beauty of humanity.”
Before Whang-Od, Oscar-winning actor Judi Dench was Vogue’s oldest ever cover star. She was featured in the British publication’s June 2020 issue at the age of 85.
