earthmagick:

My first tattoo I’m getting from a Pagan friend of mine who’s also a tattoo artist next week. :)

I decided to take a sharpie and draw out what I wanted so I can show him a picture of the symbol. This symbol is actually one of the symbols in my path, well more like the main symbol, that I use just like those who use the pentacle or Thor’s hammer as symbols for their path.

First what is it and what does it mean?

The symbol is called lingling-o which is a common symbol in South East Asia especially in the Philippines. It has been associated with fertility in women, virility in men, serves as a good luck amulet, healing, & serves as housing the Anito (the ancestors and spirits). No one really knows where this symbol originally came from however it has been used by varied groups of people in South East Asia for years prior to European colonization, particularly the Ifugao and other Cordillera tribes in the Philippines. Today however it’s grown to become a symbol worn and tattooed by the younger Filipino generations as reconnecting with our culture, ancestors, roots, and a symbol of cultural pride.

Now why is it associated with fertility and virility? Well if you look at the carved symbols inside you will notice a circle on top, two protrusions, and a thin line running down the bottom. The top circle is said to represent the womb, with the thin line running down the bottom as the vaginal canal where our first rite of passage begins when we exit our mothers womb and we are born. Then the two protrusions in between the circle and the thin line represent the male testicles. Through this combined female and male symbolism it represents fertility, virility, and a symbol of life.

There are different variations of the lingling-o which you can see on the bottom picture, however the two most well used is the basic circular symbol (look at the pendant on the bottom right), and the one that has two horned carabao (a water buffalo endemic to South East Asia, not to be confused with the reindeer known as caribou) heads on the top, (look at the gold pendant at the bottom center). This one is the one I’m getting because I personally prefer that one over the basic design not only is it more beautiful but also because of the symbolism this strong, hard working animal that is the life and also national symbol to Filipino’s.

Why I’m getting this tattoo

Because one it’s very simple for my first tattoo that I plan on getting and marks my “decolonization process”, getting back to my cultural roots prior to Spanish colonization, and also for my spirituality.

It’s not going to be my last tattoo as the complete design on both my forearms won’t finish until I’m older and have my own family. Both of my forearms are going to be heavily tattooed with traditional, ethnic, and tribal symbols representing my family history, myself, and my own family when I finally start one. My left arm will represent my family history and story until now with my brothers and I being born. My right forearm is going represent my family and any grandchildren I’ll have and the story after me and my brothers generation. All in all it’s a marking on my arms that tells my story and my families story because without them I wouldn’t be here. The tattooing culture of Pre-Hispanic Philippines is rich and with this first tattoo (or batuk in my language), it represents my connection with my ancestors, my culture, and my spirituality.

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