Five years ago, very few knew about Whang-od and her tribe. But now, thanks to various international and local documentaries and features, the world was introduced to their existence. It gave Filipinos so much pride that one of our diverse cultures is being known internationally.

Butbut Tribe is made up of five villages: Bugnay, Buscalan, Locong, Butbut Proper, and Ngibat. The one in Buscalan is where Whang-od belongs to.

Having a batok has two meanings for the tribe. For the men, you have to earn it before you can have it. It represents your status and rank as a headhunter and it tells your story as a warrior and how you fought for your land. They have high regard to those who would kill in order to protect the village. As for the women, it's mainly ornamental. The elders believed that girls with tattoos are prettier and more likely to get married.

Whang-od was supposed to be the last mambabatok (tattoo artist) but when she realized that their tattoo culture will die when she passes, she decided to teach her sister's granddaughter Grace.

People may think that since anyone can now have a batok, the true essence is already gone. But if you try to look into the meanings of the traditional designs that you get to choose from (which the locals will gladly explain to you), these are merely the ornamental tattoos. Those designs that are for warriors like the bikking and khaman are still exclusive for them. Since WWII, a man named Fanah was probably the first modern-day warrior that Whang-od tattooed with the bikking. You may read here to know more.

Buscalan's tourism is mainly fueled by Whang-od's fame. Tourists from all over the world flock to the village just to meet her and get tattooed. Aside from Whang-od, there are currently 4 more artists in the village including Grace. Since the village doesn't have hostels and inns, tourists who want to stay the night will be accommodated on homestays for Php250.00 per night. One favorite is Charlie's house which is famous for his "social hall" where you can socialize with other guests. In Buscalan, you can enjoy free rice and coffee which they planted themselves. You can also have a local guide for Php1,000.00 to help you with your bags, show you to the rest of the village, and assist you in arriving and leaving Buscalan.

The people of Kalinga have their own traditional music. One night while socializing with other guests, we were lucky enough to hear one neighbor sing a traditional song accompanied by a guitar. Even if we did not understand the lyrics because it was in their local dialect, it was still relaxing to hear.

Before modern times required the villagers to earn money for education and other needs, everything was done on the basis of trade. Now that they earn through tourism, they are able to send their children to school, buy materials for their houses, etc.

The villagers are mainly farmers. According to our guide Benjie, their harvest is not for sale. They are to be distributed to the villagers as ration for a whole year. One of their traditions is the tork that is celebrated a day before they plant the rice and during this day, no one is allowed to go inside or outside the village.

One common sight in Buscalan are the native pigs that freely roam around. There are also a few chickens and some vegetable gardens for their consumption.

Aside from livestock and vegetables, they also have whaliswis (mudfish). During afternoons or evenings when it's raining, they put weaved traps on the rice fields and collect them the next day.

Charlie told us that parents will celebrate a son's birthday every year but not the daughter's. Once the daughter gets married, parents are to give her husband a house for them to live in.

The traditional house is made up of grass roof and wood. They didn't use nails then. But now, very few of these houses remain in the village.

Some, if not all, of the villagers are also weavers. Even the oldest person in Buscalan (yes he's older than Whang-od) still weaves.

Since guests only stay in Buscalan for a very short time, we only see a very small portion of these people's way of life. It's a good thing that they have opened their doors from seclusion so the world will know how beautiful their culture is. I just hope that the government do something to protect them from exploitation.