How Ancient Filipinos Used Tattoos to Tell Their Life Stories”

Tatak ng Bayani: How Ancient Filipinos Used Tattoos to Tell Their Life Stories”

Did you know that tattoos were once the most respected mark of honor in ancient Filipino society? Long before they were seen as a form of fashion, tattoos—called batok in many indigenous communities—served as a living journal of a person’s bravery, identity, and achievements.

Among the Visayans, tattoos were especially prominent. A man with full body tattoos was known as a Pintado or “the painted one.” These weren’t just decorations—they were badges of courage. Every symbol etched onto their skin told a story: a victorious battle, a successful raid, or a rite of passage into adulthood.

Warriors earned tattoos after surviving combat or returning from sea voyages. The more tattoos a man had, the more respect he commanded in his barangay. Even women had tattoos—often with meanings tied to fertility, beauty, and spiritual protection. Designs varied across regions, from geometric patterns to images of animals or ancestors.

The act of tattooing itself was a sacred ritual. The process was painful, done with thorns and charcoal, and guided by a community elder or mambabatok (tattoo artist). But enduring the pain was proof of strength, making the tattoos even more meaningful.

Sadly, this proud tradition began to fade during colonization, when Spanish missionaries discouraged tattoos as “pagan.” But today, indigenous groups like the Butbut people of Kalinga have helped revive it, thanks to cultural icons like Apo Whang-od, the last traditional mambabatok.

Tattoos were more than ink—they were a history book written on the body. A symbol that said: “I have lived. I have fought. I belong.”

#AncientPhilippines #FilipinoTattoos #PreColonialHistory #CulturalHeritage #WarriorTraditions #Batik #PinoyPride #PhilippineMyths #Babaylan #VisayanWarriors

Meanwhile, HAPPY 164th BIRTHDAY JOSE RIZAL-Attached Video

https://fb.watch/AErATsFJ-J/

Bringing back Arman Antonio Fernandez Ferrer’s BRAVO performance of MI ULTIMO (ADIOS PATRIA ADORADA for me

) with the Ateneo Chamber Singers by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab Myran Etorsa

in Floy Quintos’ BAYANG PINAPANGARAP Independence Day Concert at the Metropolitan Theater. I wished I was there at the performance.

Lastly, here are 10 RARE OR OBSCURE VERBS YOU SHOULD KNOW!

1. Abligate – To bind or oblige legally or morally.

2. Agglutinate – To join or stick together.

3. Amate – To dismay or daunt.

4. Appertain – To relate or be relevant to.

5. Assoil – To absolve or pardon.

6. Aver – To affirm or assert with confidence.

7. Becry – To speak out against.

8. Bedazzle – To confuse or impress with brilliance.

9. Bedight – To adorn or dress.

10. Belabour – To attack verbally or physically.