PR-095-2024
On 23 August, Ms. Wilma Gaspili, also known as Ate Wamz, visited the Philippine Embassy’s Sentro Rizal Singapore and called on Ambassador Medardo G. Macaraig to share her talent and advocacy in promoting traditional Filipino tattooing as part of the rich Philippine cultural heritage.
Ate Wamz is an indigenous tattoo artist or “mambabatok” from the Benguet Kankana-ey and Ifugao Kalanguya tribes and has been a cultural advocate since 2018. She was inspired to learn more about the vanishing cultural practices and traditions, which ignited her passion to advocate traditional tattooing as a shared culture from other indigenous tribes, especially in the Cordillera region. She derives her signature tattoo from Mt. Pulag, the highest mountain in Luzon, and a sacred resting place of their ancestors.
From the word “Mambabatok”, Filipino indigenous tattoo artists like Ate Wamz use bamboo sticks with pomelo/calamansi thorns and traditional ink, in practicing a traditional hand-tapping method, known as batek, creating intricate tattoos or tribal art patterns etched on the skin that carry deep cultural meanings.
Ate Wamz was in Singapore to participate in the Benguet Adivay Festival in celebration of Benguet’s indigenous culture.
She finishes her Asian tour in Singapore and will proceed to the USA in October. She will be back in 2025 for the Singapore Ink Show. (END)
#Mambabatok #PHinSingapore #CulturalDiplomacy #SentroRizalSingapore
