Vogue Philippines has revealed Apo Whang-Od as the cover star of its April issue, a move that makes the 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines the oldest person ever to appear on the front of Vogue.

Whang-Od — also known as Maria Oggay — has been perfecting the art of hand-tapping tattoos since she was a teen, learning under her father’s instruction.

Residing in the mountain village of Buscalan, about 15 hours north of Manila, in Kalinga Province, she is considered the country’s oldest mambabatok — or traditional Kalinga tattooist.

Once, the hand-tapped tattoos that Whang-Od creates using just a bamboo stick, a thorn from a pomelo tree, water and coal, were earned by indigenous Butbut warriors.

Now, international visitors seeking her signature geometric designs make up much of her clientele.

“Heralded as the last mambabatok of her generation, she has imprinted the symbols of the Kalinga tribe — signifying strength, bravery, and beauty — on the skin of thousands of people who have made the pilgrimage to Buscalan,” Vogue Philippines said in a post on social media.

The art can only be passed down to blood relatives, and Whang-Od has been training her grandnieces Elyang Wigan and Grace Palicas for several years.

“(My friends who gave tattoos) have all passed away,” Whang-Od said.

“I’m the only one left alive that’s still giving tattoos. But I’m not afraid that the tradition will end because (I’m training) the future tattoo masters.”

“The tradition will continue as long as people keep coming to get tattoos,” she added.

“As long as I can see well, I will keep giving tattoos. I’ll stop once my vision gets blurry.”

Vogue Philippines editor-in-chief Bea Valdes said staff at the publication decided unanimously that Whang-Od should go on the cover. “We felt she represented our ideals of what is beautiful about our Filipino culture.

“We believe that the concept of beauty needs to evolve, and include diverse and inclusive faces and forms. What we hope to speak about is the beauty of humanity,” Valdes added.

Prior to Whang-Od’s appearance in Vogue Philippines, the record for oldest Vogue cover model was held by actress Judi Dench, who appeared on the front of British Vogue in 2020, at the age of 85.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【几何图形的】jǐhé túxíng de geometric using straight or curved lines in designs

or outlines

【一致地】yīzhì de unanimously in a way that is agreed or supported by everyone in a group

《时尚》杂志菲律宾版宣布阿波•旺奥德是其四月刊的封面明星，这位来自菲律宾的106岁纹身艺术家成为有史以来出现在该杂志封面最年长的人。

旺奥德 —— 别名玛丽亚•奥盖伊 —— 从十几岁开始就在父亲的指导下学习并一直在从事手工纹身艺术。

她居住在卡林加省的布斯卡兰山村，从首都马尼拉往北走约15小时车程。她是菲律宾最年长的传统卡林加纹身师，人们也称他们为曼巴巴托克。

曼巴巴托克使用一些非常原生态的工具纹身，包括竹签、柚子树上的刺、水和煤灰，从前他们只给巴特巴特土著部落的勇士纹身。

现在，找她纹上标志性几何图案的客户大部分是国际游客。

“她被誉为她这一代的最后一位曼巴巴托克，她将卡林加部落象征着力量、勇气和美丽的图案印在数千名前往布斯卡兰朝圣的人的皮肤上，” 《时尚》菲律宾版在社交媒体上的一篇文章中说。

这门艺术只传给血亲，旺奥德多年来一直在训练她的孙女艾利安•维根和格蕾丝•帕利卡斯。

“（我的纹身师朋友）都去世了，” 旺奥德说。“我是唯一一个还活着还在工作的人。但我不担心手艺失传，因为（我在培训）未来的纹身师。

“只要人们继续来纹身，这个传统就会继续下去，”她补充道。

“只要我的视力仍没问题，我就会继续纹身。如果视线变得模糊，我就会停止工作。

《时尚》杂志菲律宾版主编比亚瓦尔德斯表示，该杂志的工作人员一致认为旺奥德应该登上封面。“我们觉得她代表了菲律宾文化中理想的美。”

“我们相信，美的概念需要进步，美的面孔、美的形式应该多样化、应该有包容性，我们希望谈到美时，说的是人性之美，”瓦尔德斯补充道。

在旺奥德出现在菲律宾版《时尚》杂志上之前，最年长的《时尚》封面模特是女演员朱迪•丹奇，她2020年曾出现在英国版《时尚》的封面上，时年85岁。(SD-Agencies)