Inked and Immortalized

I designed this based on the basic shape of the Ifugao ornament called the lingling-o, said to bring fertility and supernatural powers to the wearer. It symbolizes many things: courage, the balance of male-and-female energies, and the social standing of the bearer. According to some sources, it also passes through a ritual where the ornament is bathed in blood. Perhaps its most significant meaning is that the bearer’s anitos – spirits of their ancestors – may reside in the lingling-o.

It’s been a while since I got a new tattoo, mainly because I’ve no design yet. Then it just came to me one day, when I saw my good friend wearing a lingling-o around his neck, that I used to wear one too back in fifth grade (I got it from a flea market in Boracay; it was small and made of brass. I loved it until my youthful carelessness took over it).

So here it is, bathed in blood as in the rituals, to mark the end of a tough year. This is for courage, for balance, and for fertility and harvest. This is for all my loved ones who have gone ahead, that they may stay with me forever and guide my hand with what they have taught me. 

Of all my tattoos, this perhaps holds the most meaning, in all honesty.