Gisi (thorn from lemon tree used to pierce skin in tattooing)
Text
Thorn from the lemon tree used to pierce the skin in tattooing.
Share this
Media
Images
Map Pitt Rivers Museum
Metadata
Creator
Whang-ud
Subject
Tattooing, Body art
Date
Date made: 2009
Type
Tattoo accessory, Body art
Identifier
2011.102.1.2
Origin
Tabuk, Lubuagan, Kalinga, North Luzon, Philippines
Materials
Plant thorn, pigment
Physical Dimensions
Length: max 37 mm
Provenance
Analyn Salvador-Amores.
Field collector: Analyn Salvador-Amores. Collected 2010.
Field collector: Analyn Salvador-Amores. Collected 2010.
Acquisition Date
3 October 2011
Short description
The donor of the T-shirt features on the Pitt Rivers Museum's Body Arts web pages. In her documentary Kakau and Batok Talk: Tattoos from Hawaii and the Philippines at the conclusion of her fieldwork in the mountains of northern Luzon in the Philippines, anthropologist Analyn Salvador-Amore filmed an encounter with Hawaiian tattoo practitioner Keone Nunes and a Butbut tattoo practitioner Whang-ud. The conversations reveal a deep connection with traditional tattooing practices from Polynesia to the Philippines.
See: http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/bodyarts/index.php/multimedia/video/137-kakau-and-batok-talk-tattoos-from-hawaii-and-the-philippines.html to view the documentary. [FC 24/08/2011]
See Dphil Thesis 'Tapping Ink, Tattooing, Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Kalinga Society, 2011, Analyn Salvador-Amores, p.73 "Gisi (Tattoing instruments) The main tattoo instrument is called gisi ('stick with thorn') and is hand-tapped using a pat-ik, a wooden stick. The gisi has a tiny hole near the end of the stick where the lemon thorn is inserted. Near Whang-ud's backyard are two citrus trees (Citrus limon) where she collects the lemon thorns used for tattooing. I saw scars on the tree where the thorn had been removed indicating the many thorns that Whang-ud had used for practicing and for the actual tattooing of locals and foreign visitors. The lemon thorn is covered with a protective layering that makes it sturdy for use in tatooing. Whang-ud also explained that she prefers the parakuk id lubwhan (lemon thorn) because of the strong scent that drives away the bad spirits, which can interfere with her tattooing. In the case of tattooing, it is the sight of the chara (blood) of the tattooee that attracts the ayan, and the thorn plays a role in keeping them away..." [FB 30/11/2011]
SOAS Journal article 'Batok (traditional tattoos) in diaspora: the rienvention of a globally mediated Kalinga identity', 2011, Analyn Salvador-Amores.
Display status
Not on display
References
See: http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/bodyarts/index.php/multimedia/video/137-kakau-and-batok-talk-tattoos-from-hawaii-and-the-philippines.html to view the documentary. [FC 24/08/2011]
SOAS Journal article 'Batok (traditional tattoos) in diaspora: the rienvention of a globally mediated Kalinga identity', 2011, Analyn Salvador-Amores. [FB 30/11/2011]
SOAS Journal article 'Batok (traditional tattoos) in diaspora: the rienvention of a globally mediated Kalinga identity', 2011, Analyn Salvador-Amores. [FB 30/11/2011]
Official Website
Collection
Cite this Page
Whang-ud, “Gisi (thorn from lemon tree used to pierce skin in tattooing),” Mapping Philippine Material Culture, accessed July 5, 2024, https://philippinestudies.uk/mapping-dev-50/items/show/27912.
Subjects
Geolocation
Sensitive Content
Mapping Philippine Material Culture collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards Filipino and Filipino diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Mapping Philippine Material Culture’s views. Mapping Philippine Material Culture maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities.
Facebook Twitter