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Apo Maria “Whang-Od” Oggay symbolizes 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. “When visitors come from far away,” Whang-Od says in the Butbut language, “I will give them the tatak Buscalan, tatak Kalinga for as long as my eyes can see.”

Read more about Vogue Philippines’ April 2023 cover story here: https://vogue.ph/magazine/apo-whang-od.

Now available on newsstands and on shop.vogue.ph.

Photographed by , sittings editor , produced by , production assistants , , , photographer’s assistants , , , written by , Vogue Philippines, April 2023.

Special thanks to Grace Palicas Grace Tattoo Buscalan, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples

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