I originally wrote a rant on Facebook about this subject and decided to expand on it here.
So many people have asked questions about Philippine tribal tattoo patterns. Where can patterns be found and what do they mean? While there are some patterns to source, most have been lost over time as well as their meanings. Like all tattoo cultures, Philippine tribal tattoos represent; social stature, community, beautification and at times within the context of headhunting and raiding…have you taken a head lately or raided another village?
Obviously you cannot tattoo certain patterns, as they are sacred to the remaining few indigenous groups found in the highlands of the Philippine Archipelago. Should you choose to tattoo yourself with some of these patterns, do it in an honorable way that pays respect and homage.
Yes, I have Philippine patterns on my forearms and upper arm, they are a mix of Northern and Southern Philippine tribal motifs. I chose the patterns based on their beauty and representation of flowing rivers, rice terraces and lightning. For me, they each represent subsistence living, rebirth through flowing water and the power of nature. It is my personal homage to my homeland and to those few who braved centuries of colonization and managed to keep their cultural heritage alive and vibrant.
Some Filipino patterns are like Polynesian patterns but are not exactly the same but some do share the same meanings. To twist and mix it up and claim it’s strictly Filipino, dishonors both of our cultures and really pisses off some Polynesians.
The Philippines has such a great textile, pottery and carving culture. Why not make that connection instead? Help preserve these patterns and motifs and truly honor what is ours. Bring them to the forefront and show the world the beauty of our art. Are we not good enough to stand with other tattoo cultures? Is our culture so devalued that we need to seek it in other cultures or make up BS to elevate ourselves? Does it really matter what a pattern means? Making a connection to one’s heritage IS important and should go deeper than a tattoo needle and ink.
free tattoos
November 28, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Nice post! love your blog
BathalaProject
December 2, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Very insightful and well put! I do believe that modernization of Baybayin is the way to go, however, who would be responsible for doing so? Who should be held responsible to commit to the task of amending a writing system? The Baybayin artists? The tribesmen that still use an iteration of it? The Philippine government? College professors, academics and intellectuals? Consider a similar scenario in which the increasing Spanish-speaking population in America may one day deem it necessary to add the Enye (~n) letter to the American alphabet. Who would be responsible in doing so? And how would such an amendment be standardized throughout the country? Then how would this be distributed to the academic institutions? I suppose one can look at the politics behind the redefinition of Pluto no longer being a planet and being made into public intellect as a reference.
I understand that several Baybayin writers have tried to modernize the Baybayin script by adding new characters to express modern phonetics as well as reconfiguring the kudlits to become more expressive; however, I feel like most of these changes were done independently by the individual Baybayin writer thus becoming unlikely to be held as a standard. Without a cohesive agreement from the “Baybayin community”, I think it would be difficult to bring forward a modern Baybayin character set if there are too many individual variations.
I think to successfully modernize Baybayin, several things must take place: First, a committee should be formed to discuss, debate, document and deliberate all Baybayin-related matters. By unifying efforts and collecting opinions, insights, and perspectives, macro-level changes of a writing system could have a stronger foundation to be built upon. Second, the 17 Basic character system should have it’s character strokes finalized and standardized to be recognized by the Baybayin community; The problem with making changes to Baybayin I feel is that because of regional, stylistic and individual differences, it can be difficult to communicate the same idea when many are unsure if the character they’re writing is founded on a standard character face. But once this has been defined, standardized, documented and distributed, I truly believe that modernization of Baybayin will be a much smoother, calculated and designed process.
As to what we do with this new Baybayin system is a discussion for another time…
~Cyph
The Bathala Project
http://www.TheBathalaProject.com