Information Batek
Batek: Traditional Tattoos
Batek: Traditional Tattoos and Identities in Contemporary Kalinga,
North Luzon Philippines
Analyn Ikin V. Salvador-Amores
ABSTRACT
In the early 16th century, traditional tattooing is widespread in the Philippines, but very little is known or written about the practice.
Sources for the study of traditional tattoos in Northern Luzon are very inadequate and merely make vague statements on the function and symbolic meaning of tattoos, as well as the relationship between the practice and culture as a whole. The statements likewise reveal a distinctly ethnocentric deportment. Until today, tattooing and tattoo designs in the Cordilleras are best understood within the context of headhunting.
Headhunting was the only known reason for tattooing, and, to this day, no one knows exactly what tattoos signify. This paper provides insights into the roles and functions of the tattoos, and how the tattoos
(batek) become cultural symbols of the intricate rituals brought about by community regimens of the Ilubo, Kalinga. No longer practiced, the batek of the Ilubo is a visually powerful rendering of symmetry and unity of designs. Batek now serve as an archive of culture for the group.
Keywords: Tattoo, rites of passage, body adornment, identity, Kalinga
INTRODUCTION
My anthropological interest in body ornamentation, specifically in traditional tattoos, began in 1990. I met an old Bontoc woman who sold balatinao (red rice) in one of the old market stalls in Baguio City. She was known to me only as Apong (grandmother), and her tattooed arms fascinated me each time she would pick up
Humanities Diliman (January-June 2002) 3:1, 105-142
105
Salvador-Amores
the grains and place them on her palm. The thick, black, geometric tattoos seemed to me quite odd and outlandish. They were different and out of the ordinary, and I was then unaware of the fact that my reaction was indicative of my ethnocentric bias. My
Batek: Traditional Tattoos and Identities in Contemporary Kalinga,
North Luzon Philippines
Analyn Ikin V. Salvador-Amores
ABSTRACT
In the early 16th century, traditional tattooing is widespread in the Philippines, but very little is known or written about the practice.
Sources for the study of traditional tattoos in Northern Luzon are very inadequate and merely make vague statements on the function and symbolic meaning of tattoos, as well as the relationship between the practice and culture as a whole. The statements likewise reveal a distinctly ethnocentric deportment. Until today, tattooing and tattoo designs in the Cordilleras are best understood within the context of headhunting.
Headhunting was the only known reason for tattooing, and, to this day, no one knows exactly what tattoos signify. This paper provides insights into the roles and functions of the tattoos, and how the tattoos
(batek) become cultural symbols of the intricate rituals brought about by community regimens of the Ilubo, Kalinga. No longer practiced, the batek of the Ilubo is a visually powerful rendering of symmetry and unity of designs. Batek now serve as an archive of culture for the group.
Keywords: Tattoo, rites of passage, body adornment, identity, Kalinga
INTRODUCTION
My anthropological interest in body ornamentation, specifically in traditional tattoos, began in 1990. I met an old Bontoc woman who sold balatinao (red rice) in one of the old market stalls in Baguio City. She was known to me only as Apong (grandmother), and her tattooed arms fascinated me each time she would pick up
Humanities Diliman (January-June 2002) 3:1, 105-142
105
Salvador-Amores
the grains and place them on her palm. The thick, black, geometric tattoos seemed to me quite odd and outlandish. They were different and out of the ordinary, and I was then unaware of the fact that my reaction was indicative of my ethnocentric bias. My
References: Arriola, Francisco. M. The Body Book. Quezon City: GCF Tahanan Books, 1993. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1949. Billiet, Francisco and Lambrecht, Francis. The Kalinga Ullalim II. Baguio City: Igorot Culture Research Studies, 1974. Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Limited, 1999. Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory and Practice, pp. 155-158. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. of Chicago, 1969. ___________. Kalinga Sacrifice. Baguio City: Cordillera Studies Center, UP Baguio, 1989. Dozier, Edward. The Kalingas of Northern Luzon Philippines. New York: Holt and Rhinehart Publications, 1967. American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1907. Smithsonian Institution, 1926. Community Development Research Council, 1977. Roces, Marian. Sinaunang Habi. Quezon City, 1991. University of the Philippines Diliman, 2002. Strathern, Andrew. Body Thoughts. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996. Sugguiyao, Miguel. The Kalinga Hilltribe of the Philippines. Quezon City: Office of the Northern Cultural Communities, 1998. Turner, Victor. The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2005. Van Gennep, Arnold. The Rites of Passage. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962. Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1920.