In Marks of Ancestors, Tagalikha's virtual workshop goes beyond skin deep

Dec 7

Written by: Bea Calderon

“Within a generation, a cultural practice can die.”

How do we reframe the perception of tattoos in our community? While it is widely acknowledged that much has been lost from precolonial Filipino traditions, those who attempt to bring back or continue these practices aren’t always as welcomed by our people. Undoubtedly, there is a gap between the prevalence of tattoos among the new generation and the conservative and oftentimes adverse views of our elders. Tagalikha wants to help fill this gap and promote the revival of a practice that was once so revered and so woven into the fabric of our precolonial identity. Through years of foreign influence, traditional mediums such as voyaging traditions, oral history, and weaving, to name a few, have been forgotten through time by the need to survive Western-driven economies. Without a next generation to carry this knowledge forward, a part of the culture dies. Luckily for us, there are people like Jonny who continue to fight.

Jonny Bautista is currently a cultural hand tap tattoo or batok apprentice with Manong Lane Wilcken at KATAO Living Traditions. He credits his Nanang Unnay’s stories and teachings for instilling the need to learn about his origins and to reconnect with his ancestors. “Her death was a turning point in my life”, he remarked. While studying abroad in Japan, Jonny came across Manong Lane’s book about the Philippines' precolonial tattoo practices. What stood out the most for him were the images of an Itneg woman and the tattoos on her arms. Flooded with questions, Jonny went to the Philippines to seek out his Great Aunts and his tribe, the Itneg-Tingguian. Physically reconnecting with his origins allowed for a life-changing immersion with its long history and practices. He then came back to the U.S., and got in touch with Manong Lane and since moved to Vegas. There he began his apprenticeship with a renewed perspective of who he was and a deep desire to engage in and share what would preserve his ancestors’ culture.

This part struck me the most. When I expected a technical introduction, Jonny opened with his Talambuhay. Later on, I understood that to learn about batok was to learn about the importance of knowing one’s lineage. The markings were a way for our ancestors to recognize each other in the afterlife and for their souls to remain with us and within us. It made me realize how it almost could not be compared to modern day tattooing, which mostly focused on individual creative expression and is mostly void of its ritualistic roots. Batok, on the other hand, was a sacred ceremony of adding another link to the chain of one’s ancestry.

“[At the beginning of a batok ceremony], we start with prayers and chants, we offer food, and we ask that they protect the recipient as they engage in this ritual of uniting with their own ancestors”, says Jonny. Ink is tapped into the skin through an “S” shaped comb (known as Igihisi) or a wooden handle with a sharpened bone comb (known as Kisi). Extra pair of hands stretch the skin to keep the area taut; making it less painful than a tattoo machine, and I think the involvement of the “stretchers” make it both a personal and communal activity. The tapping follows the body’s meridian points where energy is released and received, thereby putting the body in a balance and rendering recipients in a meditative state. Jonny believes that batok has a medicinal power that may help in alleviating pain, increase chances of fertility, and other health issues.

There lies the belief that everything will continue to exist. At the core of this belief are the natural spirits who have always existed through time. Alongside them are the anito, spirits of deceased mortals, our ancestors, who will continue to exist through our intuition, our dreams, the chills that run up our spine, apparitions, or by influencing the behaviors of animals. “This is different from ‘spirit animal’ in the Native American culture”, Jonny emphasized. A spirit animal serves as a symbol and the main guiding spirit for a particular Native American lineage, but for our ethnic tribes, ancestors communicate with us through animals. This communication is materialized through the designs in the batok.

People who receive the ngipon ni buwaya (triangles depicting crocodiles) are those seeking spiritual protection from ancestors when faced by adversaries. Another example is the Banug-Manaul or the Sea Hawks whose head, tilted to the left or right, signifies certain omens one has to follow. One must be wary of the way the Sea Hawks take flight, and in essence, to be mindful of one’s path in their journey. Jonny’s beloved Tita Rachele passed away early this year; “It [providing the marks for our people] made me realize why we are doing this in the first place, so [they can find their way and] be recognized by their ancestors when they pass on”, he said. As someone who has also recently lost loved ones, learning about this continued communication has given me great comfort and appreciation for a culture that reveres our ancestors and the afterlife.

Truly, these are not just mere drawings but are sacred motifs specific to multiple ethnic groups and roles they play in the community. It is vital that we keep in mind how important it is to study, research and respect these designs, and not mindlessly copy them. Admittedly, I considered getting a tattoo of Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead simply because it looked “cool”. Then it dawned on me how terribly disrespectful and ignorant this was. The workshop made me look back and think – why am I copying another culture’s symbol when I don’t even know a single thing about my own specific ethnolinguistic lineages?

To my great relief, Jonny’s talk was followed by a creative activity and this helped me find out I was Ilocano-Tagalog. However, my grandparents, who later migrated to another region, did not see the need to teach my parents the native dialect. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if my Mother spoke Ilocano, would I be more in touch, or at least knowledgeable, of my origins? Thankfully, Jonny ended the workshop with the many ways we can continue communing with our ancestors. Be it weaving, farming, pottery, beadwork, poetry and many more, or in my case, cooking the dishes my late Uncle taught me when I was young.

During the Q&A, it was phenomenal to witness people across oceans and continents agree on the need to start conversing with parents and elders on our family’s history and to reflect – and perhaps challenge – postcolonial mentalities we still adhere to. After all, Jonny’s journey began with stories from Nanang Unay until it led him, years later, to revisiting his roots and eventual pursuit of becoming a mambabatok. Who knows, maybe this virtual workshop could also just be the beginning for us.

Missed this workshop? Watch the Zoom recording and download Jonny’s presentation deck below and follow along. There are activities and questions to help you reflect further.

Words by: Bea Calderon

Workshop Leader: Jonny Bautista

Zoom Recording: Link

Workshop Deck: Link

FAQs with Jonny

How do I prepare for my batok ceremony?

The beginning of preparing for your batok ceremony is to first try your best, within your mental and emotional capacity, and find out your maternal and paternal lineages. Beginning Questions you can ask yourself or them are…

“Which areas of the PH are your family from?”

“What languages did your family speak?”

“Which family member, living or dead, do you have a positive connection to? And how did they impact you?”

The last question will allow you to connect to someone who can potentially be a bridge to personal discovery or to other relatives who are keepers of family oral history and culture. All of these questions are to help you develop your genealogical research and help us decide what patterns and arrangements are appropriate for you to receive.

There are also physical preparations one must be prepared for prior to receiving batok. One example is abstaining from alcohol and caffeine.

You can refer to lanewilcken.com and click on his FAQ’s to read more on some details of these preparations needed.

Is batok more painful than modern tattooing (machines)?

Simple answer is no, because modern tattooing uses a tattoo machine which puts more trauma to the skin due to the reason that there are more punctures to the skin than the handtap tattooing method. With the handtap tattooing method, it’s less punctures to the skin compared to a tattoo machine. It’s as simple as tap, tap, tap. Punctures to the skin are less frequent than tattoo machines. Also, the assistance of stretchers, those who help keep the skin taut, help reduce the pain because the cultural handtap tattoo practitioners don't have to hit as hard due to the reason that the skin would be far less bouncy. Thus reducing the amount of force needed to puncture the skin with the handtap method.

Where do I learn about my region’s creation story to help inform my batok?

There are plenty of Philippine Folktale books online that feature creation stories, and you can purchase them readily on Amazon or other websites. There are also websites that do articles on Philippine myths, folktales, and stories and source the books they get their information from. Some online examples include the Aswang Project and on Instagram, Pinay Writer who consistently sources their information. They also provide opportunities to learn directly from them.

However, the short answer to how a creation story informs a potential batok design and arrangement involves a very long talk on each region’s specific creation story, and how that persons’ specific ethnic group arranges those designs on the body. Not every ethnic group has a stand alone symbol for creation, however it can be illustrated by the combination of certain motifs to depict the creation tradition of that specific ethnic group.

Do you have advice on how to deal with opposing opinions with parents about getting batok, especially if they are traditionally Christian?

My best advice for you is to focus on family history and talks on identity. The goal is to get the best genealogical research to help you receive batok. The goal is also not to break their spiritual foundation, but to educate yourself and share openly and educate them respectfully on your shared cultural history. I would also suggest possibly to share some resources with your family which can help them tangibly see our indigenous connection to tattooing.

Where are other mambabatoks based outside of the Philippines?

First let me say that there is a difference between tattoo artists that hand tap in contemporary style and cultural hand tap tattoo practitioners who follow specific ritual protocols and stay within a recipient’s ethnolinguistic specific lineages. Even the tools are different, where tattoo artists attach commercial tattoo needles to a stick or handle. Usually they are self taught in hand tapping. In contrast, cultural hand tap tattoo practitioners know how to make the ancient tools and usually learn from another experienced practitioner.

With that said, the only people I can name who are cultural hand tap tattoo practitioners outside of the Philippines are Manong Lane Wilcken, Natalia Roxas, and Dave Gucela/Thompson.

What's a good first step to learning about your family origin with only having post colonialist history?

This is a misconception, we in fact all have a pre and post colonialist history, it’s just that our pre-colonialist history was not recorded by Europeans. Unfortunately, what we have recorded physically comes from an ethnocentric perspective by our colonizers. That’s why it’s important to understand the culture as a whole to get a fuller understanding of our practices as well as potential history.

For someone who is already tattooing and would like to begin batok study, where could I go to learn?

I would first encourage you to learn all you can on your own about our batok practices. There are a few books out there that can give you a framework of understanding of batok. Please keep in mind that different ethnic groups in the Philippines sometimes have somewhat different practices. Generally speaking, tattoo artists have a hard time transitioning into a traditional practice. This is because tattoo artists are accustomed to creative self-expression whereas a cultural handtap tattoo practitioner must follow specific ritual protocols and layouts on the body. Cultural tattooing is not a vehicle for a handtap tattoo practitioner’s artistic expression, rather it's an inclusive community focused paradigm in contrast to how western tattooing is about exclusivity and individuality. This is why a lot of tattoo artists can not make the transition. I do not know of other teachers out there where you can learn about batok. My teacher Manong Lane chooses his students and is currently at capacity.