#batuk

✨️Batuk, batok, tatak, fatek, batek, tadtad, patik. All various terms throughout the Philippine archipelago that mean tattoo.

One of the original names the Spaniards gave to the islands of what is now known as the Philippines was "Islas de los Pintados" or the Islands of the Painted Ones. This was because the people they met were heavily tattooed. The batuk were given as marks of valor, womanhood, and also had spiritual aspects as one could not safely pass on to the afterlife without getting their marks. Each motif represented different meanings, drawing from nature, cultural practices, and the ancestors.

Batuk - Vida

Are you getting started on researching our history, culture, and ancestral beliefs? Well here are some book recommendations to get started.

For those interested in learning about our precolonial culture and beliefs, I always recommend reading Barangay: 16th Century Philippine Culture & Society by William H. Scott. This is a helpful book that discusses many topics and should be a starting point when doing your research.

Hi there!

While at the time when the Spaniards first arrived, the Tagalog did not tattoo, it is believed they once did based on terms they had for tattooing. It's believed they may have prior to Islam arriving among the Tagalog via influences from Borneo and the royal family of Brunei marrying and having ties with the local Datu's and nobility in the Tagalog region during the time.