Kalinga - Part II - Last Tattoo Artist

The mountain village of Buscalan in the province of Kalinga held moving and meaningful surprises for my honey and me. 

A good friend had invited us to join a group of photographers on their trip and we had enthusiastically agreed without really knowing much about their mission. So it was to be an adventure without expectations; the best kind, in my book. And we were not disappointed.

Yesterday, in Part I of this series, I showed the majestic rice terraces we passed on our journey through the mountains.

Only when we reached Buscalan, historically a headhunters' village, did we learn we were to meet the last Kalinga mambabatok or tribal tattoo artist.

Let me introduce you to the poised and talented Whang Od (pronounced Fang-ud). She is in her 90s, was never married (lost the love of her life in a fatal accident when still in her 20s), and still works daily both in the rice fields and at her special art of hand-tap tattooing.

Whang Od herself is adorned with traditional tribal tattoo designs, as well as beautiful heirloom beads. (You can read more about Kalinga beads here.) I suspect some of these beads she would have received in barter for her craft.

Lars Krutak, the tattoo anthropologist of Discovery Channel's Tattoo Hunter series fame, describes her craft thus:

Whang Od keeps her tattooing tools under the floor boards of her stilted hut. Her hand-tapping kit is comprised of a coconut bowl to mix a pigment of soot and water, an orange thorn needle (siit) attached to the end of a small bamboo stick, and another short stick used to tap the thorn into the skin. 

I've read that for many, once they get one tattoo, they can't stop themselves getting more. Vixienne came back to Buscalan for her second tattoo. She is grimacing from the pain here, but not long after she was all smiles.

 

Jeremiah is the proud new owner of a traditional centipede tattoo by the national artist with a steady hand. (See Part VI so see his video of this.)

 

 Buscalan, Kalinga, 2012

In this last photo you see Whang Od standing in front of her humble home and also the tomb she has built for herself - the entrance is behind her legs. 

Many are concerned that when she dies, her art form will die with her. We were told - and I later read - that she has been training her young yet enthusiastic grand-niece, but we did not see her.

This is a short - less than two minute - video of the perilous road to Buscalan and Whang Od at her tap-tap-tap work. It was not made by anyone in our group.



My post today is linked to the blogging communities at Mosaic Monday and Macro Monday.

Drop in for Part III of this Kalinga series. Maybe I can surprise you, too!

Brown Deer

Almost two years ago I showed you some white deer in a private zoo quite near my home. Yesterday when we drove by there was a new herd of deer, this time mostly brown.

Since I know as little about animals as I know about flowers and plants, I'll refrain from trying to guess what species of deer these are. But they sure are cute Camera Critters!

Manila, 2012

This last one, better viewed enlarged, is for the meme Mosaic Monday.

We're solidly in the wet season now, but you can see from the dried out vegetation that it's been a long dry summer in Manila.

Strolling Along the Sea in Negros Oriental

Last week my honey and I joined a group of good friends for a few days of fun and laughter at a resort on the tip of Negros Oriental, about an hour's drive from the university town of Dumaguete.

Join me here for a little stroll along the beautiful sea. The boardwalk is concrete and has seen better days, but the camera did not mind that.

Negros Oriental, 2011

I am linking this post with the blogging communities at Sunday Bridges, Scenic Sunday, Macro Monday and Mosaic Monday.

HaPpY hApPy NeW yEaR!!

Red Powder Puff

By now my regular visitors know that I don't know the first thing about flowers or plants. Except that they sure are pretty. And I like to get my camera close to them.

Manila, 2011

It would be safe just to call these red powder puffs. No one would take me seriously. But I'm going to stick my neck out... again... and identify these as Calliandra, a genus of flowering plants in the pea family. Maybe of the species Calliandra emarginata.

[Enlarge for better view.]

"Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon." 

~ Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856–1915), American author

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957) American writer

This bush stands right at the front gate to our house. The powder puffs bloom right after it rains; then the puffs go away until after the next downpour. I'd never really taken notice before. Here you can see that it's a rather ordinary looking bush... until you look closely.

I link with Today's Flower, Mosaic Monday and Macro Monday.

Mystery Colors in My Garden

We recently moved houses and that, of course, meant we got a new garden. One morning shortly after a rainfall, I explored the grounds and found a lot of colorful flowers I could not name. Maybe you can help me.

PS. I have added the scientific names below as they were identified with a little help from my blogger friends. Thank you! The names link to sites with more information and, when available, I've linked to a site that describes the plant's medicinal values. 

Ixora coccinea

Ochna thomasiana (Mickey Mouse plant)

Averrhoa bilimbi

This next photo is added after many comments to show the fruit of this bilimbi plant. One of the English common names is cucumber tree. As you can read in the comments or the linked page, the fruit is sour and is used in sinigang (a very sour Filipino soup) and bagoong (shrimp paste). Also go visit fellow blogger Andrea, a Filipina horticultural expert, where her post today elucidates on the properties of this sour fruit. And no, I have not yet tasted this fruit from our tree.

Manila, 2011

 

Heliconia and Mussaenda philippica 'Aurorae'

I'm joining the blogging communities at Today's Flower, Weekend Flowers, Macro Flower Saturday, Flowers on Saturday, Macro Monday and Mosaic Monday. Do check out these meme for awesome flowers, macros and mosaics.

Queen of the Tropics

This is my pictorial ode to the lovely hibiscus. I fell in love with this flower just this year, although of course I've seen it around for decades. And only recently I learned that here in the Philippines it is called gumamela, a word that rolls pleasingly off my tongue right into my ears. Amazing how shifting my attentions can open up a whole new world. And how the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

With several hundred species of this genus of the Malvaceae or mallow family, I can only show you a very few I've seen around in my neighborhood. You can read more about this versatile flower in this wiki.

Manila, 2011

I am linking with dozens of other stunning flowers at Today's Flower and Weekend Flowers. The top image is offered to Shadow Shot Sunday and then there's Macro Monday. There's plenty to please at all these wonderful memes.

Yellow, White and Red Flowers Nearby

Here are three flowers species I managed to capture on-the-run over the hectic period of our move to our new home.

This Kampanilya or Yellow Bell (Allamanda cathartica Linn) adorned the gate of our old house. 

These Kalachuchi flowers, aka Temple Flower or Frangipani (Plumeria acuminata), grow on a magnificent tree in front of our new neighbor's house. 

And finally a macro of a flower in a Flame Tree (Delonix regia) outside the court we played tennis last week. To see an entire tree in bloom, see my earlier post here. 

 Manila, 2011

Check out the stunning flowers at Today's Flower and fabulous macros at Macro Monday. I'm also linking with the blogging communities at Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday.

Painted Daisy

I'm fairly certain that these are Painted Daisies also known as Chrysanthemums of the family Asteraceae. But I can't nail the species... are they coccineum, carinatum, both or neither?

Postscript: The only thing I got right is the family name. Beautiful bloggers have properly informed me that these are Gaillardia, commonly called Blanket Flower. Lesson: Don't be certain about things you know you know nothing about!

Whatever they are, these daisies blanket flowers I found in a Bucharest park sure are delightful eye candy! 

 [glorious details better seen enlarged]

Joining the meme communities at Today's Flower, Mellow Yellow Monday, Mosaic Monday, Macro Monday and Ruby Red Tuesday. 

(Note: If any of the meme hosts object to multiple linking, don't be shy to let me know. I do make best efforts to visit other bloggers linked to each meme.)

Forget Domani

Do you recognize this angel?

 Bucharest, 2011

My clue for you is the song Forget Domani sung by Katyna Ranieri. Listen to it, if you have a few minutes, it's so fun (right click on the title to open the link in a new tab).

Here is a longer view for the answer.

 

She is called Spirit of Ecstasy and has quite the romantic history. This hood ornament has adorned the RR since 1911. And the whole yellow car...

 

And what has that to do with Forget Domani? The song won Best Original Song at the 23rd Golden Globe Awards. It was for the movie The Yellow Rolls-Royce. It looks like a good film, but I've not seen it. Have you?

This post links with Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday.

The Common Dandelion

What is the difference between a weed and a flower? Only that the weed grows where it is not wanted, I've learned. Does that make it less beautiful or useful? Well, no. 

Take the common dandelion. Isn't it delightfully pretty? Each bright yellow flower is unique, no two alike, as far as I can tell... so much like snowflakes that way... and humans.

[Enlarge me by clicking.]

Dandelions have medicinal and culinary uses. If, for example, you have low appetite, upset stomach, or liver or gallbladder issues, or you need to normalize your blood sugar level or improve your lipid profiles, you may want to look more into the curative powers of the various parts of this lowly weed. Its young leaves are great in salads or sauteed with sweet vegetables. 

 Austria, 2011

Hey, honeybees love them... and after a spring of seeing bright yellow dandelions everywhere, so do I.

This is my contribution to Today's Flower, Mosaic Monday, Macro Monday, and Mellow Yellow Monday. (If a host of any of these memes frowns on multi-linking, don't be shy to let me know.)

Winter Macros

While some of my fellow bloggers in cold climes are posting bright spring photos to banish the dreariness of gray winter, I was moved to find in my archives these macros I took on my walks on the Sunshine Coast of BC last winter. The shapes, textures and colors of this eclectic group of winter foliage appeal to me. As usual, details can better be seen when enlarged.

Sunshine Coast, BC, 2010

I'm joining the good folks posting for Macro Monday and Mosaic Monday.

Crawling among the Mushrooms

I'd gotten it into to my head to join Mary's Mosaic Monday combined with Lisa's Macro Monday, yet as I stepped out of our front door with my camera yesterday, I had something quite different in mind. I was in for a little surprise.

As soon as I opened our white iron gate, there on our coconut tree stump I spotted a cluster of lovely little mushrooms left by the recent rains. And that wasn't all. I knelt down and started to compose and click to capture the mushrooms when I noticed one... two... three... oh my, many minute creatures crawling in and around the fungi. Peering at the black bodies with two yellow stripes more closely, I recognized them as caterpillars, but even a later search on the internet did not reveal to me what kind they are.  I could guess that they transform into the small yellow butterflies that fly around in our area, but I wouldn't bank on that. Whatever they are called, they certainly became part of my photo story and mosaic today. 

Having completed my mosaic of macros, I could only wish that I had a better lens for the job. I am inspired to get a macro lens and have some more fun.

Manila, 2010

PS. Today our conscientious gardener promptly swept all the mushrooms away. So glad I beat him to them!

Click on the links for many many more macros and mosaics. For a closer view of my little creepers, click on the image.