Apo Whang-Od

The mambabatok — traditional tattoo artist — of Buscalan in the Philippines, 106 years old at the time of Harry’s visit. She has spent a lifetime tattooing by hand using nothing more than a pomelo thorn and ink, in a tradition that marked heroism for the men of the mountain tribes. Her fame has made her a global icon and the oldest person ever to appear on the cover of Vogue, and it has turned her village into a destination that receives several hundred visitors a day.

The part Harry finds most significant is the succession. The art was close to dying with her; now her granddaughters have learned it — Grace, who started at nine years old and says it is hard to learn — so the tradition continues and brings work to the area. Over the Christmas period Whang-Od was too tired to tattoo continuously, and Harry received his from both her and Grace, which he concluded was the better outcome precisely because it showed the handover.

Harry frames her story as being about resilience and holding on to tradition in a changing world rather than about tattoos, and says creators have a responsibility to tell it with care.

Appears in

• I Investigated The World’s Oldest Tattoo Artist — tattoos Harry in Buscalan alongside her granddaughter.