Who is Apo Whang-Od, the 106-year-old tattoo artist and the longest-lived woman to appear on the cover of Vogue

fashion philippines has discovered Apo Whang-Od as the cover star of its April issue, a move that makes 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines in The oldest person to appear on the cover from Vogue.

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Whang-Od, also known as maria oggayshe perfected the art of tattooing since she was a teenager, learning under her father’s instructions.

Living in a mountain town Buscalan, about 15 hours north of Manilain the province of Kalinga, it is believed mambabatok, or traditional Kalinga tattoo artist, the oldest in the country.

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Once the native Butbut warriors earned handmade tattoos which Whang-Od creates using only a a bamboo stick, a thorn from a grapefruit tree, water and charcoal. Now, international visitors who are looking for their own Geometric designs characteristic of constitute much of his clientele.

“Announced as the last mambabatok of his generationhe wrote the symbols the Kalinga tribeWhat they mean strength, courage and beautyin the shoes of the thousands of people who made the pilgrimage to Buscalan,” Vogue Philippines said in a social media post.

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Art can only be passed on to blood relativesand Whang Od was training his grandchildren Elyang Wigan and Grace Palicas for several years.

“(My friends who did tattoos) passed away,” Whang Od told CNN Travel in 2017. “I’m the only one left alive who still does tattoos. But I’m not afraid that the tradition will stop because I’m (training) the next tattoo artists. The tradition will continue as long as people keep coming to get tattooed. I’ll stop when my vision gets blurry.”

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The Philippine Vogue Editor-in-Chief Bea Valdessaid that the staff the publication unanimously decided that Whang-Od should be featured on the cover. “We felt that she represented ours the ideals of what is beautiful in our Filipino culture. We believe it is the concept of beauty must evolve and include diverse and inclusive faces and shapes. We hope to talk about the beauty of humanityValdes added.

Before Whang-Od’s appearance in the fashion philippines, the record for the oldest Vogue cover model was held by actress Judi Denchwhich appeared on the cover Vogue British 2020, aged 85 years. (AND)