Sixth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

Tattooing has become a significant component of popular global culture and the focus of anthropological studies worldwide. This research project examines how foreign, local, and diasporic Filipino tourists are turning to tattoos, and particularly batok (traditional tattoos) from Whang-ud, the last traditional Kalinga tattoo practitioner, to formulate specific expressions of cultural authenticity and identity. Ironically, these are the very same tattoos associated with headhunting as symbols of savagery that were criminalized during the American colonial period at the turn of the twentieth century that are now appropriated as visible and permanent markers of Filipino identity. The reinvention of batok has changed the meaning and context of these traditional tattoos, as have the motivations of people for embarking on long mountain treks to experience the pain of tattooing from Whang-ud. The popularity of Kalinga tattoos has opened new arenas for both traditional and contemporary forms of expression dissociated from the symbolic meanings and devoid of the performance of rituals. Tattooing in Buscalan now persists because of the economic benefits brought by tourism to the community. This research specifically investigates the impact of tourism on traditional tattoo culture: how these tattoos as objects becomes “commodified,” how they configure as part of the identity-making of foreign, local and diasporic Filipinos, and how they are produced through the traditional process that imbues them with a greater “authenticity.” It also examines the positive and negative outcomes of tourism and analyze how sharing and preserving culture can be seen as conflicting goals.