Who is Apo

Apo Whang-od was a young 15-year old girl when she received her first tattoo. Apo was trained by her father to be a mambabatok around the same age. Whang-od is a significant member of her tribe. She is known as the last mambabatok, and is now 105 years old.  She has a sweet disposition and an angelic presence, as people who have met her will say. Apo says that will continue to tattoo as long as her eyes will let her.

The trip to her village, includes an over 10-hour trek through the Kalinga mountains, to the Buscalan Village, where she lives. Travelers from all over the world are more than happy to take that journey, in hopes of seeing her and getting a tattoo. In 2018, Apo received "Dangal ng Haraya Award" for Intangible Cultural Heritage, by the NCCA (2018)

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Whang-od did not have any children. So she is teaching the traditional batok to her blood relatives. Her oldest grandniece, Grace, has been practicing this art since she was 10 years old (Ocampo, 2019). Whang-od is confident in her niece and the abilities she has, to carry on the batok tradition. People are hearing about Grace and her abilities and travel to see her now, as well her great-aunt.

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There are many videos that exist, of people traveling to see Apo. Although she doesn't speak English, she has sat down with many travelers to talk and visit. Below is one of those videos, where you can see her work and hear her speak.