VIRGILIO Almario, National Artist for Literature and chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), will confer the Dangal ng Haraya award for Intangible Cultural Heritage to Maria "Whang-od" Oggay on June 25 at the Capitol Park grounds in Bulanao in Tabuk.

A ritual will be performed before the ceremonies by vice governor James Edduba with traditional performances by Buscalan village where Whang-od hails with a testimonial by barangay chief Francis Angyaw and Mayor Sacrament Gumilab of Tinglayan followed by Kalinga Governor Jocel Baac and elder, Natty Suggiyao.

Whang–od, from the Butbut group in Kalinga who does her work at the small village of Buscalan in Tinglayan town and has passed on the art of tattooing to her bloodline.

Whang-od is believed to be the oldest mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattooist) who has practiced the ancient art of hand tapped tatoos.

The NCCA, in a special resolution, recognized the role of Whang-od as one of the oldest living traditional tattoo practitioners of the Kalinga community “Apo Whang Od’s continuing work as a manwhatok and her influence on the Filipino traditional arts scene leading to a heightened awareness about the culture of the Kalinga community -- their worldview, traditions, and expressions -- earned her the Dangal ng Haraya for Intangible Cultural Heritage."

Whang–od’s ink is composed of the mixture of charcoal and water that will be tapped into the skin through a thorn of a lemon or pomelo tree.

The hand tapped tattoo technique is called “batok” dating back to thousand years and is said to be more painful than the machine tattooing system.