![]() Headhunting, as practiced, was a part of ritual warfare that had spiritual implications. The image of the Kalingas as bloodthirsty savages was perpetrated by the colonial ethnologic photographer Dean Worcester, who in 1912 published photographs of Cordilleran tribes in National Geographic, describing them as both exotic and terrifying in an attempt to justify American control of Northern Luzon, or what he called “No Man’s Land.” But reality was more nuanced. Whang-Od has tattooed more women than warriors, as headhunting was banned by the Americans in the early 1900s. But steel has long replaced the traditional cogon roofing of the homes, and wooden huts have made way for crowded, concrete structures. There is still no cell signal, and only a scant number of residents have WiFi. Modern conveniences haven’t completely transformed Buscalan, yet. What’s left is a strenuous climb through the rice terraces that a reasonably fit person can conquer in 40 minutes. But the dirt path from the turnoff in the municipality of Tinglayan, Kalinga-clearly marked by a sign that proclaims Welcome! Whang-Od Buscalan Tattoo Village-is now paved over, reducing hike time by over an hour. Sure, you still need to endure the 12 hour-body-numbing drive from Manila with its city gridlock to the winding mountain roads of the Cordilleras, swerving around landslide debris and oncoming trucks in dangerously foggy conditions. The remote village of Buscalan, home of the famed last mambabatok of her generation, has never been this accessible. The thousand-year-old practice of batok will live on, in Buscalan and around the world, thanks to the descendants whom Apo Whang-Od has been training and inspiring.
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