Markings of Legacy: Script, Skin, and Spirit

Markings of Legacy: Script, Skin, and Spirit is a community-centered gathering presented by House of Gongs in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu, bringing together Filipino ancestral practices of batok (hand-tap tattooing) and baybayin (pre-colonial script) in conversation with living cultural bearers and tradition keepers both from the Philippines and the Filipino American Diasporic community.

The event features a live batok demonstration, a cultural exchange through baybayin, and a special performance by the Braddah Ash, House of Gongs and University of Hawai‘i Kulintang Ensemble.

A panel discussion moderated by Lydia Querian will offer a dialogue around the cultural, spiritual, and diasporic significance of these practices—featuring Lane Wilcken, mambabatok and scholar of sacred symbolism; Kristian Kabuay, leading advocate and artist of baybayin and batok artist; and House of Gongs Artist in Residence Pow Taton, an esteemed educator, researcher from the Panay Bukidnon community in the Visayas.

Through live demonstrations, ancestral knowledge sharing, and community dialogue, this program invites attendees to reconnect with the meanings inscribed on our skin, carried in our language, and passed down through lineage.

LIMITED SEATS. Registration is free. To support House of Gongs' cultural programming, please consider making a donation.

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