Kapayapaan, The Tattoo and Its Meaning.

I have long wanted to be inked but I never had a concrete design in mind.

At first, I wanted it on my hand. A discrete, delicately-crawling, aesthetically-pleasing tribal tattoo that would run from the root of the nails to the base of the hand.

Kitchie Nadal and her finger tattoo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/redsago/531462034/

I was discouraged however because almost every time I say I intend to have my hand inked, people would respond with "Oh, like Kitchie Nadal."

I have nothing against Kitchie Nadal. I actually think she rocks. But I do not want my ink to be seen to be influenced by or, much worse, copied from the idea of another artist.

I want my tattoo to be unique and original.

I also considered having a my whole hand covered with detailed and feminine tribal tattoo. That kind of design will definitely separate my tat from the thought of Kitchie Nadal's finger tattoo.

Detailed Hand Tatttoo
http://tattooshut.com/t/mehndi/

But I belong to no tribe, have not gone to see one and does not know of any that I wish to belong to. So having a tribal hand tattoo, no matter how aesthetically pleasing it may be, may be meaningless.

I think among the problems with having a tattoo is that most times people do not put much effort into thinking about what to get inked on their skin that sometimes, catastrophically, some get permanently marked with something meaningless or something that looks more like dirt than art.

Last April (2011,) my friend asked me to accompany her while she gets her second tattoo.

She was gonna have her calves inked with the symbol more popularly known as the 'Power of Three' because of the series 'Charmed.'

Turns out, this symbol is called the Triquetra and is a sign of female power.

I wasn't getting a tattoo that day. But for some reason, I have started to think about what tattoo design I would like inked on my skin.

Symbols don't appeal much to me. Tribal tattoos most times mean nothing. I do not want anything I do not understand inked on my body, so definitely nothing in chinese or arabic.

I want to be able to see my tattoo everyday, like a reminder. And I needed it to be something I need. A reminder I need.

And then, the brilliant idea came. I wanted to be marked with peace or in my language:'Kapayapaan.'

I wanted it on my forearm so that I can see it effortlessly everyday. Like a reminder to always seek peace.

I started tracing the letters of 'Kapayapaan' on my forearm as I was seated on the bus, on the way to meeting my friend.

I met with my friend and commuted to where the tattoo artist was.

It was the home of my friend's officemate. We were treated to home-cooked meal of soup and rice before the inking started.

They were very friendly and soon I was drawn to get my tat that day. I looked up different fonts for my tattoo and found Scriptina to be perfect font for my purpose.

I decided to get inked that day.

My friend's officemate and the artist seemed both glad and surprised that I was smiling almost the entire time I was getting tattooed. They asked me a few times if it did not hurt. It did hurt, but when I smile I didn't seem to feel it much. So, I smiled as much as I could.

It took a few hours to finish but I was glad with the result.

Kapayapaan, as I plainly call my tat, is a great conversation starter. I have been approached and spoken to by strangers on multiple occasions because of it.

Other people appreciate the fact that I have a tattoo. Other people appreciate that it is a big tattoo. Other people appreciate that I am a girl and I have a big tattoo. Other people with tattoos appreciate that we have something in common. Other people appreciate the design. Other people appreciate the message.

It's not a complicated message. It's not a symbol or something written in a language we can't understand.

One time though, someone asked me what it meant.

I appreciated the question because it's, after all, what we want and yet, simple as it is, we have different views of what it really means.

These days, there are even some people who have the assumption that, with this inked on my arm, I will no longer stand up for myself or others.

Because you see, some people mistake "not fighting for your rights" as peace. That is among the most ignorant assumptions I have ever come across and I will not let that point of view go between me and justice.

Real peace comes when you have won after fighting for what is right. It is not achieved in silence or with murmured ramblings while you wait for injustice to fade.

Peace comes with justice but you need to fight for it because seldom does justice just come around - you can't just wait for it to happen.

Peace is not agreeing to everything. It is agreeing to what is right and fighting against what is wrong. And we must all find the strength to fight for real peace. Because peace is not achieved by being ignorant, lazy or scared of fighting for what is right.

On one occasion, an officemate asked for my opinion on what he should choose to get inked on his skin. And I said: Ink on your skin, what you want to have in your life.


+ I will forever fight for real peace.