Until now, British actress Judi Dench held the title of longest-lived woman to appear on a Vogue cover at her more than enviable 85 years. Now, a person unknown to many has ousted the interpreter by starring in the Philippine April edition of the renowned fashion magazine at the age of 106.
Her name responds to Apo Whang-Od and her profession, closely linked to the world of men, has taken her to the top in her country and throughout the world. Also known as Maria Oggay, this century-old woman has perfected the art of tattooing since she was a teenager, a tradition she learned from her father.
Whang-Od is often described as the ultimate "Batok" tattoo artist, an ancient tattoo technique originating from the Sierra Madre mountains of the northern Philippines, where members of her tribe, before fighting rival clans, would expose their bodies to traditional drawings with ink and natural needles, printed with bamboo sticks.
Their designs signify strength, bravery and beauty. Tourists who visit his residence, a mountain town of Buscalan, about 15 hours north of Manila, do not hesitate to come to his home in search of his ancestral designs.
But his prestige is so high that he has gained the power to choose who and what to tattoo. “When visitors come from far away,” Whang-Od tells Vogue Philippines, “I will give them the Buscalan tatak, Kalinga tatak as long as my eyes can see.”
Although her age is unknown since she does not have a birth certificate, Vogue assures in its article that Whang Od would now be 106 years old, making the elderly artist the longest-serving cover protagonist of the legendary magazine, in the publication launched last Thursday. .
The art can only be passed down to blood relatives, and Whang Od has been training his nieces and granddaughters Elyang Wigan and Grace Palicas, his two proteges, for many years. “I was the first girl to learn how to tattoo. I was just watching what she was doing," Grace, 26, told Vogue.
