08/22/2026
I started researching the word Batic because I was looking for an old Kapampangan word connected to tattooing.
I already knew words like batek, batok, fatek, and patik from different communities in the Philippines, so I became curious about what I could find in older Tagalog and Kapampangan sources.
Thatās how I came across Batic.
I spent a lot of time going through old dictionaries, comparing definitions, looking at the different forms of the word, and trying to understand what the writers were actually describing.
Something Iāve had to remind myself throughout this research is who wrote these sources.
A lot of what we have from this period was documented by Spanish missionaries. They were listening to Filipino languages and then trying to explain those words through Spanish. So when I read these dictionaries, I donāt automatically assume that the Spanish definition gives us the complete Indigenous meaning of the word.
Thatās why Iām hesitant to simply say āBatic means tattoo.ā
Thereās more to it than that.
What I can do is show what I found, compare the different sources, and be clear about where the evidence ends and my own interpretation begins.
Iām still learning, and I know thereās more out there that I havenāt found yet. This post is really just me sharing where my research has taken me so far.
Thank you to the people, researchers, translators, and cultural practitioners whose work has helped me continue learning.
Sources:
ā¢ Juan de Noceda & Pedro de SanlĆŗcar ā Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala
ā¢ Fr. Diego BergaƱo ā Vocabulario de Pampango en Romance y Diccionario de Romance en Pampango
ā¢ Fr. Venancio Q. Samson ā English translation of BergaƱoās vocabulary / Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University
