Whang-od Oggay is known worldwide as a living legend and the last tribal tattoo artist to hold the title of Mambabatok—the name given to traditional tattooists by the Kalinga ethnic group for thousands of years.

“When you die, a tattoo is the only thing that will remain on your body, so it is a treasure, a treasure that lasts,” says Oggay.

For over eight decades, Oggay has been single-handedly keeping the traditions of the Butbut tribe alive through a unique method of hand-tap tattooing.

Her early tattoo works did not earn her any income but due to the influx of tourists in her town, she was earning at least Php 5,000 a day for her tattooing in 2015. She accepts around twenty to thirty customers everyday. In early 2017, Whang-od briefly stopped tattooing due to health reasons. She had diarrhea and continuous cough that prompted her to take a rest for a week. She returned back to tattooing after she recovered from her illness.

Like other indigenouism artists, her tattoo ink is composed of the indigenous materials, which are mixture of charcoal and water that will be tapped into the skin through a thorn end of a calamansi or pomelo tree. This ancient technique of batok that dates back a thousand years before her time is relatively painful compared to other conventional techniques. She uses designs found in nature and basic geometric shapes. Her signature tattoo is composed of three dots.

Aside from being a tattoo artist, Whang-od is a respected village elder and plays the nose flute. She also does agricultural tasks like feeding pigs and chickens; and working at the family's rice farm.

According to www.atlasobscura.com and wikipedia.