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Vienna, Austria – [19 July 2025] — Vienna’s recent Barrio Fiesta came alive with cultural pride as indigenous tattoo artist and cultural bearer Ate Wamz (Wilma Gaspili) showcased the ancient Filipino art of batok—a sacred hand-tap tattooing tradition passed down from the Cordillera highlands of the Philippines.
Hosted by “Filipina in Austria (Babaylan Europe), a Filipino cultural group in Austria, Ate Wamz led a live tattoo session at the festival, offering a unique and spiritual experience for attendees, reconnecting with their heritage through skin and ink.
Babaylan Europe is a Filipina-led cultural and advocacy network committed to empowering women and preserving Filipino indigenous traditions and heritage across Europe.
Ate Wamz is from the Kankana-ey and Kalanguya tribes of Benguet. She has been a cultural advocate since 2018 and began tattooing in the traditional way in 2022. Her tattoo sessions reflect not just artistry but spiritual and ancestral healing—each mark a link to identity, memory, and lineage.
Her method strictly honors ancestral practices: she uses lemon thorns as tattoo needles, hand-taps the skin using a wooden stick, and mixes ink from soot and spring water collected from Mt. Pulag, one of the most sacred mountains in the Cordilleras. Each tattoo is created through a meticulous, rhythmic process that has been practiced for generations.
“The meanings in our traditional patterns are vast—bravery, protection, healing, beauty, strength, and freedom,” says Ate Wamz. “But beyond that, each design helps revive a forgotten identity. Even within the Cordilleras, each of the six provinces has its patterns to distinguish the tribes. Across the whole Philippines, there’s a rich diversity that deserves to be remembered.”
Her presence at the Barrio Fiesta marks part of her ongoing cultural mission, which has taken her across Asia (including Borneo, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Indonesia), the United States, and now to Europe.
“I came to Vienna to promote the tattoo culture, and I’m so grateful for the warm welcome from the Filipino and Igorot communities here,” she shares. “Many Filipinos haven’t been able to go home for years, so when they receive these tattoos, it feels like they’re carrying a piece of the Philippines with them. It’s deeply emotional.”
The traditional tattoo session quickly became a highlight of the event, drawing attendees eager to honor their heritage through a timeless, meaningful ritual.
For media inquiries, event collaborations, or to learn more about Ate Wamz’s tattoo sessions and cultural work, don’t hesitate to get in touch with ENFID Austria
About Ate Wamz
Wilma Gaspili, known widely as Ate Wamz, is an indigenous mambabatok (hand-tap tattoo artist) and cultural bearer from the Kankana-ey/Kalanguya tribes of Benguet, Philippines. She began advocating for traditional tattooing in 2018 and now shares her ancestral practice globally, using organic tools and materials rooted in ritual, community, and identity.
- Hector Pascua
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