Meet the coolest 100-year-old ever.
Whang Od has dedicated her entire life to the traditional hand-tapped body art of her tribe. She is the last remaining tattoo artist of the Kaling tribe in the Philippines.
In a hilltop hut in the Cordillera mountains, Od has tattooed everyone from her friends and neighbours to worldly travellers who pass by.
Apparently, born on 17 February 1917, Od’s boyfriend and love of her life died during the war when she was 25-years-old, and she’s never married.
As the last remaining master tattooist, when she dies there will be no one else to carry on the tradition. In fear of the tradition dying out, Od teaches her sister’s granddaughter Grace the ancient Filipino body art, along with a younger generation of women, in the hope that the art form is kept alive for many more years to come.
In a short film, directed and filmed by Joan Planas, Od discusses her love for the art, it’s past and future:
“The first tattoo I got was a ladder and a python,” Od said.
“Parents tattooed their daughters because it made them prettier.
Traditionally, the tribe didn’t accept money for their work but modern life has changed that:
“Before we didn’t tattoo for money, but now times have changed. Thanks to the money from tattoos, I can buy more pigs and hens.
Od’s work varies in design, but some creations are kept for certain individuals:
“There are designs only for warriors, like the eagle, that cannot be tattooed on anyone else.
Speaking of her own future, Od never wants to stop doing what she loves:
“I want to live more than a hundred years and continue to be a tattoo maker.”