My tangle pattern Thorns is a homage to the oldest “mamababatok” tattooist in the Philippines.  Here are the tangle pattern step-outs to help you draw Thorns.  I first saw this tattoo pattern on the half-sleeve of a Filipino guy while standing in line at the Shameless Buns food truck.   Filipino tribal tattoos are called “batek” or “batok” (Visayan) or “Taktak” (Tagalog).  I’m sure there are many other names for tattoo as the Philippines has over 170 dialects and tattoos were common on all the major islands of the Philippines.  I have created another tangle pattern step-outs for “Kalinga” which originated from a Filipino tattoo pattern I had seen.

About Apo Whang-Od Oggay

Filipinos used tattoos to express themselves and to tell their story.  Pre-Spanish colonial and Christianization era, both men and women had tattoos that covered much of their bodies.  The tattoos symbolized nobility and bravery.  The oldest living “mamababatok” (Tattoo Master) is Apo Whang-Od Oggay.  She is 103 years old as of February 2020.  Her ancestors were Butbut tribesmen in the northern mountainous regions of the island of Luzon.

Whang-Od, the last of the Mambabatok, is a living legend.  She practices the Kalinga tattoo art form using thorns from a lemon tree, charcoal (soot) and a small bamboo hammer.  Those who have been lucky to have this kind of hand-tattoo done have said it is painless!

Origin of the tangle pattern name

Lemon tree thorn