Batok Festival

OCTOBER is INDIGENOUS people's month in the Philippines and in the northern province of Kalinga, local organizers in the city of Tabuk, the capital of the province, hosted a Diddiga (pride) celebration to mark the accomplishments of the Kalinga people. This year's four-day event was themed "Pride of the Past - Hope for the Future" and showcased the beauty of Kalinga culture through a music and dance competition (sallidummay), a Chico River rafting exerience (the "River of life" in Kalinga), and on the final day a Batok (tattoo) Festival that tattooed Kalinga elder and provincial officer of the National Commission on Indegenous Peoples (NCIP) Ms. Naty Sugguiyao suggested "expresses through individual talent, arts, prowess, and strength..... the very best of Kalinga.





The purpose of the Batok Festival was not only to celebrate the artistic achievements of Kalinga tattoo artists and the beautifully adorned men and women in attendance, but to also recognize that this ancient 1,000 year-old cultural practice is vanishing along with the gatekeepers of knowledge associated with it. Fifty-two elders from remote highland communities and the Tabuk area visited the event including the last Kalinga mambabatok or tattoo artist - the graceful 89-year-old Whang Od. She along with california-based Elle Festin, Zel, and Gyroe of "Tatak Ng Apat Na Alon" (Mark of the Four Waves Tribe) demostrated the ancient hand-tapping art of batok for all to experience. Elle also got the mayor of Tabuk (Camilio T. Lammawin Jr.) involved by inking his first tattoos - traditional Kalinga designs on his wrists.







To promote the event, Gov. Floydelia R. Diasen drafted an executive order encouraging the participation of the entire province to observe indigenous month with the Diddiga as its highlight. It stated that this celebration is "meant to engender the Kalinga's pride of identity [and] to enrich their foundation to stand on their own ethnicity anchoring their dreams and aspiration to the positive dynamic aspect of culture and time tested traditions." In her speech to the vast crowds that were present she stated: "We must not shy away from the lessons we have learned in the old days and let us be proud of our ethnic roots for its from looking back into who we once were that we become more enlightened with where and who we must be in the future."