AN indigenous tattoo artist from the Kankanaey-Kalanguya communities of Benguet and Ifugao showcased traditional Cordillera tattooing at the Big London Tattoo convention, where she was the only indigenous Filipino exhibitor.
Wilma ‘Ate Wamz’ Gaspili, 48, was invited to the event after organizers noticed her work in previous international appearances and a feature in last year’s convention magazine.
‘They invited me after seeing the feedback from my work,’ she told BusinessMirror, adding that she has also attended tattoo events in India.
While other Filipinos joined competitions during the three-day London gathering that started September 4, Gaspili said she was the sole indigenous Filipino among the exhibitors.
She practices and promotes batok: Cordillera’s tattooing art using a hand-tapping technique with iron wood and lemon thorn, with pine soot and water from Mount Pulag as ink. Kalinga tattoo artist and National Living Treasure Apo Whang-Od popularized the technique.
‘Many people think Kalinga’s [batok] represents the whole Cordillera, but there are tattoo traditions in other parts of the region,’ Gaspili explained.
‘Teddyboy’ gets inked
AMONG those who received her work was Ambassador Teodoro ‘Teddyboy’ Locsin Jr., who had a tikawa, or spider design, stenciled on his arm.
She said Locsin was the first ambassador to visit her booth at any of her previous international conventions. According to her, it was a proud moment.
Beyond tattoo conventions, Gaspili said she has been invited to museums and universities in the United States and the United Nations headquarters in Vienna. She shared her plans to continue researching indigenous tattoo traditions during her stay in London.
According to Gaspili, international audiences in Europe, Canada, and Australia have shown growing interest in indigenous Filipino tattoo traditions.
‘I think many people in the Philippines still don’t know much about it,’ she said. ‘That’s why it’s important to keep sharing our culture.’
Self-taught
UNLIKE many traditional practitioners, Gaspili did not learn the craft through apprenticeship: ‘[I was self-taught]. There was no apprenticeship tradition for me.’
She considers herself part of efforts to revive traditional Benguet tattooing and introduce it to a wider audience.
At the London convention, she used lemon thorns as needles. Her tattoo ink comes from ash collected from various parts of the Philippines, such as Bicol, Cebu, and the Ilocos Region.
‘I collect ink from different places,’ she said, noting that clients appreciated receiving tattoos made with materials linked to their hometowns.
Although comparisons with Whang-Od are common, Gaspili stressed that she has built her own path as an artist while honoring a shared indigenous heritage.
‘Whang-Od is a legend, [but] I’m proud of what I represent as well,’ she said.