Batok: The Exploration of Indigenous Filipino Tattooing as a Resistive Collective Occupation

Batok: Indigenous Filipino Tattooing

Batok is an Indigenous Filipino tattooing practice using hand-tapped ink with bone/wood implements. It signifies nobility, bravery, or maturity. Batok classifies families, socioeconomic status, acts of valor and roles within the community.

History of Colonization

Originating pre-1521, Spanish colonizers suppressed batok, introducing shame (kababain). US colonizers deemed tattoos uncivilized, influencing younger generations and leading to the decline of batok. The Filipino diaspora in the 1970s/80s saw a resurgence, integrating Indigenous history into cultural identity.

Collective Occupation

Occupations are meaningful, everyday activities. Collective occupation involves individuals, groups, or communities with intentions toward social cohesion or aversion to a common good. Colonialism exploits Indigenous peoples, erases cultural traditions, and harms the environment. Resistive occupations, like batok, counter these injustices, reviving Indigenous ideas.

European Tattooing

Research connects non-Indigenous tattooing to doing, being, becoming, and belonging. Motivations vary from personal expression to socio-cultural affiliation. Batok differs with its deep roots in ancestral lineage and community.

Methods

A phenomenological approach was used to explore lived experiences. Interviews with Filipino batok recipients and their families were analyzed thematically. Participants were grouped by family, consisting of the individual with the batok and at least one family or community member, all of whom resided in the US. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board’s approval for the research was granted through the Dominican University of California, IRBPHP IRB Application #10918.

Findings

Kapwa

Kapwa is the Tagalog sentiment representing connection among the Filipino community. It recognizes equal value among all humans. Participants expressed:

  • Increased sense of self

  • Symbiotic connection to nature

  • Shared connection within community

Revealing One's Batok

Marking designs are passed down through generations. Participants felt:

  • A spiritual calling from nature

  • That the batok was always part of them, merely revealed through the process

Decolonization and Reclamation

Barriers remain due to colonization. Participants:

  • Overcame internal/external barriers

  • Connected to the past, honoring ancestors and reclaiming traditions

Discussion

Batok is a collective and resistive occupation. It enhances social cohesion by honoring individuals, community, and ancestors. Batok promotes Kapwa, echoing Ubuntu and A’wna by highlighting interconnectedness. Batok resists colonization and reclaims Indigenous heritage, representing a continuous process challenging colonial attitudes.