-(Elle): A lot of Filipinos are proud to say they're Filipinos, but we kind of lost ourselves.

Me, being Filipino-American also I felt like an empty bottle.

The physical vessel is there.

There is no water, there is no knowledge, there is nothing behind it.

So, any blowing wind can topple that vessel.

So, starting this shop is really a point, a crossroad in some sense to help the Filipino community get their tattoos also and have their cup filled.

(theme music) -(narrator): Amidst the masses of people and the fast-paced lifestyle of Los Angeles exists a place called Spiritual Journey tattoo shop.

It's an oasis for people of Filipino ancestry to reconnect with their roots.

The shop welcomes anyone with Filipino heritage who has interest in exploring their origins through traditional tattooing.

Tattooing had been practiced in the Philippines for many centuries.

Yet for expats, it remains an unknown art form based on cultural pride.

-I'm Elle Festin.

I'm a cultural tattooist for Mark of Four Waves Tribe and Spiritual Journey and we're reviving traditional tattoo arts of the Philippines.

-(narrator): Housing a big percentage of Filipino immigrants, the United States is home to the largest population of Filipinos outside the Philippines.

Most of whom reside in California.

-I am from Mindoro Island in the Philippines.

I left the Philippines when I was in... fourth grade, I think, and I was raised basically American over here in the States.

I did feel displacement, you know, growing up over here, because you don't really know who you are, and... everyone is already like, "what is a Filipino now?"

It's an empty... it's an empty word.

I felt empty.

(needle buzzing) -(narrator): The Philippines has a long history of migration.

Centuries ago, traders, missionaries, warfarers, and colonists all made their mark through the archipelago.

It's no surprise that this resulted in an eclectic fusion of multiple ethnic influences and physical features.

Over the last century, there's been a constant exodus of its population due to the increasing rate of unemployment and social hardships for its native people.

Arriving in the US with very little money, Filipino families looking for a fresh start often find themselves having to settle for low-income housing.

-Starting with a neighbourhood in... in the hood, basically.

Of course, living over there I have to be affiliated.

It becomes a brotherhood, it becomes like a whole family.

But there's no spiritual influence with them.

Seeing your... the kids you grew up with and growing old disappear.

They go either in jail, juvenile hall or they die.

You know, I start to, like, drift away and try to, like, to move myself away from that.

-(narrator): The harsh transition into American society often creates a rupture from their homelands and leaves many Filipino immigrants wanting to reconnect with their culture and recreate a sense of belonging to the East.

-When I started tattooing, definitely, I was a blank canvas.

Even with the jewelry I make and everything.

You gotta not assimilate, so I made my clothes, made my jewelry to look really different from the normal society.

So, normal to me is abnormal.

And abnormal is normal to me.

(pearls rattling) -(narrator): Elle's journey led him down a path of self-discovery, and over the years he's done everything possible to keep his roots and culture visible.

At his home can be found his very own private museum filled with Filipino artifacts and literature, the results of over 20 years of research and collecting.

-(Elle): So, what are you looking for, Joseph?

-(Joseph): Um, I'm mainly looking for more research about the Bontoc culture.

Because I want to know more of my roots from that region.

-Yeah, definitely!

Um... Well, you know what is best?

I think we should start off first with this old National Geographic from 1912.

So there's a lot of content here on, like, Bontoc tattoos that you could see that's probably familiar to your village and stuff.

This is the first old magazine that I ran across when my Polynesian friends were telling me that Filipinos had tattoos.

-(narrator): This all started when Elle went to Hawaii in 1996.

His trip to the islands came right in the middle of the height of the revival of Polynesian tribal tattoos.

-I was just, like, checking out his books and the works he does.

To me, it's very abstract because I'd never seen tribal tattoos before.

This guy is showing me these... these triangles, these weaving patterns, geometric patterns and stuff.

And he's telling me the meanings of it.

Then he showed me on his skin, and I was like, "Wow, that's like poetry on skin."

So, he's like, "You need to realize that if my ancestors went through your islands and stuff and we're related.

That means they spoke in, like, metaphors, in shapes and patterns and stuff.

So, you need to find that, to know yourself."

Somehow, it planted a seed.

-(narrator): And that seed grew into a passion for books.

In those books, he found tattoo illustrations, but the meanings were vague.

Surprisingly, within these books only written descriptions of the tattoos could be found.

By looking at ancient objects like artifacts, carvings, textiles and hilts of swords, Elle was able to piece together patterns and traditional symbolism and eventually fitted these into the designs of the tattoos and what they meant.

-Twenty years of research.

Wow, I... I can't believe I was that fueled to just... really understand my culture and our people.

(screams) -(man): Everybody's on the court!

-Alright!

Who wants to be on my team?

Who wants to win?

(laughter, indistinct chatter) -(narrator): Sharing his knowledge lead him to meet more and more Filipinos seeking the same sense of belonging and ties to their ancestral roots.

-Next thing you know, they start getting tattooed like me.

I was telling them the meaning behind it.

(indistinct chatter) -(narrator): Before Elle knew it, he had created a community centred around the tattooing traditions of ancient Filipino tribes, right within the US of A.

-So, we should call our tattoo group something.

And they're like: "Why don't you just name it what your research says.

You know about, like, all the migrations that came to the Philippines and influenced the Philippines and intermarried with each other to make a Filipino?"

I don't know, isn't there like waves of migration?

And we were like: "Waves?

I like waves."

"Just call it Mark of the Four Waves."

-(narrator): Established in 1997, the tribe now spans the globe and has 483 members.

-It feels like a family.

A lot of us, like someone like me, who was born and raised in the Philippines and came over here at 16.

And then, to find family again, it's pretty cool.

-I wanted to find myself, like, really find myself.

Because I knew the Hawaiian side, I just didn't know my actual blood side.

So, when I wanted to start getting Filipino tattoos, I searched and found Spiritual Journey.

When I got there, you know, to get my tattoos, and... that's how I started to learn about the tribe.

That's when my journey started actually.

-I work in the medical field and to me, I wanted to portray that not everybody who had tattoos are bad people.

I'm still able to come into work and do my job, take care of my patients, give them the quality of care that they need.

Patient after patient, they get to hear my story and teaching everybody about my roots and culture.

-Our ancestors would do this when they reached certain achievements, you know, within their village.

So I do this whenever I hit certain achievements.

I don't just wake up one day and say: "I'm gonna get a tattoo."

So that way, it, like, marks me at that time.

-(narrator): This morning at the shop, one of Elle's many apprentices is getting ready for the first client of the day.

Since Joseph started at Spiritual Journey he has taken the responsibility to revive the tattoo tradition of his ancestors' tribe.

-My mother is a part of the Apat Na Alon tribe.

I wanted to be just like them, covered in tattoos.

Growing up and seeing them more often and hearing their stories, then it really showed me that I really wanted to follow my roots and get Filipino tattoos.

But not just that but also to learn how to tattoo.

So, I know that she's from the Ifugao region, but what patterns do you think would be suitable for her?

What do you think of these ones right here?

-No.

Can I see your book?

-Of course -So, we could do these... 'Cause I know she already has these certain patterns and stuff.

We need to express her storyline.

-Okay!

-I think we should go check out the patterns.

-Yeah, sure.

-Alright!

-Yes, this is perfect!

-Her being from the Ifugao region and different from other regions.

The patterns have to be floating, is that correct?

-These charts of patterns that we do basically are for, like, different people that go on our website and answer a questionnaire.

Depending on what region you're from, it definitely shapes the patterns and the storyline and everything.

So nowadays, though, a lot of Filipinos, they're mixed with different tribes' blood.

So, we have to mix some of the patterns together to make a storyline.

-(narrator): There are different tattoo traditions within each tribe of the Philippines' main island group.

Spanish colonizers called the region La Isla De Los Pintados, meaning "the Island of the painted ones".

Tattooing styles range from intricately delicate swirling designs to bold and simple silhouette motifs.

Each line, shape and symbol have their own intention and significance.

(needle buzzing) -(Elle): Hey, what's up, Phill?

Hey, what's up, Kayla?

-Hi!

-You ready?

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

-It's good to see you, bro!

So, are you ready?

-Yeah, definitely!

You ready?

-Yeah!

(Phillip laughs.)

-Perfect!

You are nervous.

Come on!

Come here, let me see.

Oh, perfect!

You healed well and stuff.

Okay, she has those motifs already.

Oh, you even have the other snake too.

So, what we'll do is we will do a variant of this, and then let's see what resonates with you when we draw it over there, okay?

Do you want that full sleeve for her?

Or is she nervous about that?

-She is nervous about that.

But she likes the idea of going with the partial sleeve to have that balance first.

-Actually, I could do the rice, for the scorpion?

-Okay.

-And then centipedes for the... -The snakes?

-Yeah, so two different variants of the centipedes.

Because, if we did two snakes... does that resonate with you?

-(Kayla): Yeah.

-Okay, cool!

Are you sure?

-(Kayla): Yeah.

-Alright, cool.

-Our history is from the Ifugao area of the Philipines.

Being born and raised in America, we only knew we were Filipinos.

We didn't know that there was actually ancestry like Native Americans or something like that.

-(Elle): Are you ready to feel some pain?

(needle buzzing) -So, my brother, who's a Filipino-American historian, basically did a lot of the research, connected with Elle, and found out that, hey, we do have some ancestry.

We do have some tribal ancestry.

And, you know, what better way to connect than getting a tattoo?

Kind of paying tribute to our ancestors and making sure, our kids, my daughter included, will be able to pass on that tradition.

-(narrator): With this tattoo, Cayla will be the first woman since 1912 to receive these Ifugao traditional markings.

-For her, to be able to be the first one to revive it over a hundred years, her eyes lit up.

She said: "Yes, let's do it."

-(Elle): One more, okay?

And then we're done.

(needle buzzing) Excited?

-Yes.

-You can stand up if you want.

Then, I'll clean you up.

-My tattoos definitely are, like, a big influence in my Asian American studies.

It's made me want to learn more about my culture and history.

I feel proud of, like, honouring my ancestors.

-(narrator): Many friends from the tribe have gathered at Elle's to help renovate the tribe's temple.

(indistinct chatter) So, here's the spray paint.

Yeah, so, you just paint this, alright?

And then, we're gonna do the white diamond for the back of the snake.

-This will dry pretty quickly.

(man): Yeah!

It should, right?

-(Joseph): Yeah.

-We're painting the temple and keeping it up to date because we haven't updated it and renovated it for so long.

It has been like four years.

So, thanks to the tribe helping out before we have a ceremony in September.

-(narrator): In recognition of someone spreading the word about the revival, a vote is held, and someone in the tribe moves up to a higher ranking.

The ceremony takes place within the temple.

-Right now, it's kind of stressful because everyone is everywhere, but we will get it done fast because there are so many people here.

-I've kind of been around the whole process from when it was, like, still in the infant stage.

So, I watched it grow and progress until it's a big family, like, all over the world.

So... and then, now, it's reached the point where it's generations now.

So, it's really amazing to see it go through that process.

-Ooh... I know.

-I'm so hungry.

-(Elle): I know.

Me too.

It's banana leaves too.

-(man): Oooh, yeah!

-First, guys, I want to thank you guys for helping, you know, restore the temple, so we could still, like, do ceremonies and everything.

I want to thank you, guys, for cooking.

(prayer in native language) -(Elle): Let's get down.

(Everybody is laughing.)

-(Elle): Alright!

-(man): Come on!

(music, laughter, chatter) -(Jermaine): It's not about, like, I'm a gang member or I'm trying to show, like, where I'm from.

It's more like: this is who I am, and this is who I represent.

And also, not just who I represent, but, like, the people that I represent.

So it's also... you know, it's educational and it's an art form that's getting more accepted everywhere.

-Some people will be like: "Wow these are really cool, these are beautiful."

And some people are like: "Why did you cover your whole body, like... it's dirty."

And it's like, what?

I think this is beautiful, you know, it represents me, it tells my whole story.

-The best decision in my fifty years of living on this earth was to join this tribe.

Hands down.

-The ancestors, you know, wanted me to do that.

Because it created bridges and chemistry with everyone and with all these like-minded people.

So all these guys are puzzle pieces to make that big picture.

(child's laughter) (indistinctive voices) -(narrator): Although Elle's shop is state of the art, everyone was taught how to use traditional tools, from hand tapping to hand poking, with the intention of rekindling their traditions to revive their past.

-Why I would use these on special occasions instead of a machine is because, for instance, that person already got traditional tattoos, right?

And they want to feel more and be in the same shoes as their ancestors.

I use these so, you know, the Mana, the spirit, can be, like, put on them.

'Cause it reminds, like, right when it starts prickling the skin, the feeling almost ties the past to the present.

-(narrator): Elle is using this "S" shape tool, unique to the Philippine tattoo master.

With his own hands, he replicated the important piece in 2005 in order to create a design with hidden depth.

-Alright.

You ready?

-Yeah.

-What does it feel like?

-It stings.

-Yeah.

(Margaret laughing) -This is called, in the native tongue (native word).

It means the snake's bite.

So, a snake's quick bite.

With just little leverage, little movements like this... it could actually puncture skin.

From then on, I realized, like, okay, that with tapping, it uses force and leverage With hand poke, it's like a pen.

And I see those two combined together, so I start calling it "tapoke".

Like, taping and poking at the same time, right?

-There you go, see.

-Oh.

-It's fast, instead of taping.

-Yeah.

-And the person tattooing is already stretching instead of another stretcher.

-Right.

So, is that the needle always going to be lines style?

-Yeah.

-Instead of just making them, like, a circle and a round sort of needle... -Yeah, I can make a round one for swirls, you know.

So, discovering this was amazing because this tool works so fast.

When we go to tattoo conventions, we do it so fast creating a line, that's very sacred.

It's a simple symbol that talks about the spirit world and the physical world.

So, just to introduce it slowly to the world, we do that simple design and everything.

Every tattoo we do, there's Mana there.

This guy got a great experience about that.

-(man): Check out my new piece that Zel did.

-(Margaret): Oh, yes!

I like that.

-(Elle): Yes, this is nice.

-Yeah, I got this because it represents my mother and I only wanted Zel to do it because since I've known Zel, she's been, like, the greatest mother.

When my mom died, three years ago... all that Mana left me.

And so, I wanted something to remember my mom and I wanted somebody very special to put that Mana, the motherly Mana back into me.

So, always, always, always question the Mana of the artist that is going to put a mark on you that's gonna last you till the day you die.

-(Margaret): So you know there's indigenous, just, people all over the world or just, you know, people before colonization, right?

So, would this... would they have that same... -(Elle): Philosophy?

-Yeah!

-(Elle): Of course.

-Yeah, I feel it's all... -Different!

Different dialect, different language, no matter what, they have this form of treasuring something that is not a treasure to somebody else.

Because Mana, like he said, it's like a... it's an heirloom.

(front door opening) Tadam!

(Margaret laughs happily.)

Cool!

(indistinctive chatter) There you go, with your journey and everything.

It's perfect, you've just defined it in, like, one symbol.

-Beyond that.

-Yeah!

-On that line... -Yeah, "Walk the line".

Johnny Cash.

(They laugh.)

It's pretty amazing, though.

It's simple and so deep, right?

The Mana is strong, this one.

(upbeat music) (singing and dancing) (laughter) It's really important for, like, all these different Filipinos from different walks of life, different jobs and everything to get together and be like-minded by restoring the traditions.

So it's really lovely to see, like, the sisters in the tribe get together and just do their little practice here and there.

Everyone is smiling together, and they would have not met if they didn't get the tattoos, you know?

It's almost, like, hope that their children's children can repeat this... this cycle of tradition.

Like, look at that family!

You know?

So... The community's very important.

We need to build more communities like this.

A lot of different cultures and even Filipino cultures that were colonized.

It's ingrained in them to, like, hate on each other like crabs in a barrel.

So, this time around, look, they're all holding hands together.

They climb off that barrel.

And that's amazing to me.

-(narrator): While those traditional tribal peaces are rarely maintained and passed on in the Philippines, the Four Waves Tribe seems on the right path to keep this art form alive for many generations to come.

(native language) (laughter) -If you enjoyed Skindigenous and would like to see more clips about these artists or more about the locations featured in the show, head over to skindigenous.tv.

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