Casting Shadows of the Past: A Maiden’s Tattoo Debut

Kalinga girls come of age and enter womanhood by ceremonial tattooing of their arms and shoulders.  Much like other tribes in the Philippines, women wore no upper body clothing.  The tattoos and jewelry were their clothing and their mark of beauty.

The screen provides no privacy but overlays the "inufu-ufug" or "many-eyes" and "filig" or "mountains" on the person behind it. It also casts a long shadow pattern on the ground. Collectively it connects the person with ancestors and the land. The screen is flanked by "lingling-o" a symbol of fertility and balance of male and female energies.

Photo ca. 1905