_02.jpg) Kamayan as applied through a boodle fight | |
| Alternative names | Kinamo,kinamut |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Philippines |
| Other information | Sadya |
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Kamayan is aFilipinocultural term for the various occasions or contexts in whichpagkakamay (Tagalog: "[eating] with the hands") is practiced,[1][2] including as part of communalfeasting (calledsalu-salo inTagalog).[3][4][5] Such feasts traditionally served the food on large leaves such as banana or breadfruit spread on a table, with the diners eating from their own plates.[6][7] The practice is also known askinamot orkinamut inVisayan languages.[8]
While eating with the hands started out as a commonfolkway before the arrival of European colonizers, its cultural significance has become elevated in the Philippines' postcolonial culture, since the practice had been discouraged by the Philippines' Spanish and American colonizers who instead encouraged the use ofspoons andforks.[9]
A separate[9][10] tradition which involves eating with the hands straight off the table is theboodle fight, a tradition of theArmed Forces of the Philippines originally practiced byPhilippine Military Academy cadets,[11] and drawn from a similar tradition at the United States Military Academy West Point.[9] The intent is to build military camaraderie by getting military personnel to enjoy the same food together, regardless of rank.[11]
Among restaurants outside of the Philippines, however, the term "boodle fight" has often been erroneously conflated withkamayan andsalu-salo, and the terms tend to be wrongly used synonymously when marketing the Filipino food experience.[10][12][13]
The Tagalog termkamayan is formed from the root wordkamay andthe noun-forming suffix "-an" which indicates "collectivity, object, place, and instrument."[14] Bothpagkamay andkinamot mean "[eating] with the hands", from the root wordskamay andkamot, both meaning "hands".[15]
Meanwhile,salu-salo means "feast" or "banquet", areduplication ofsalo, "to eat together" or "to share food".
Kamayan also describes the traditional communal feasts or family meals, where rice and various colorful dishes are placed on banana leaves and eaten together. The banana leaves are washed and slightly wilted over open flames to bring out an oily sheen and then laid out on a long table.[6] In theBatanes Islands in the northern Philippines, largebreadfruit (tipuho) leaves are used instead in a serving tradition calledvunung orvunong.[7]
Pagkakamay describes the act of eating with the bare hands, which is the traditional pre-colonial method of eating in Filipino culture. This is done by forming a small mound of rice, adding a piece of the accompanying dish for flavor (theulam), compressing it into a small pyramid with the fingers, lifting it to the mouth nestled in four cupped fingers, and then pushing it into the mouth with the thumb. The entire process only uses the fingers of one hand. It never uses the palms of the hands and the fingers also never enter the mouth. The other hand is not used and may instead be used to hold the plate or a drink.[5][16][17]
Kamayan is an informal and intimate method of dining. It has a general atmosphere of sharing, and participants usually talk throughout the meal. It does not have the strict etiquette and rules of western dining, and the dishes served depend on what is available.Kamayan may be done in private family meals, or at gatherings, parties, picnics, orfiestas.[4][15][6]
The practice of kamayan is pre-colonial. It has been described in byAntonio Pigafetta in theMagellan expedition, as well as by Spanish missionaries during theSpanish colonial period.[4] While utensils like wooden spoons and ladles existed for serving and cooking in pre-colonial Filipino culture, they were not used for eating.[18][19]
The practice was tolerated during the Spanish period, but it was suppressed during theAmerican colonial period when American dining etiquette and the use of spoons and forks were aggressively promoted.[20][21]
Kamayan became a particularly popular way of celebrating Filipino culture in the 1980s and 1990s, a fact reflected in the ubiquitous popularity of an upscale restaurant chain called "Kamayan."[22]
A boodle fight is a meal that dispenses withcutlery anddishes.[23] Diners instead eat with their hands straight off the table unlike typical kamayan instances of eating with the hands off individual plates.[24] The food is placed on top of a longbanana leaf-linedtrestle table and in the true military practice, diners do not sit in chairs but instead stand shoulder to shoulder in a line on both sides of the table.[25]
A seniorofficer orenlisted personnel then utters the traditional command for the boodle fight to begin:
"Ready on the left,
Ready on the right,
Commence boodle fight!"
The name "boodle fight" likely[speculation?] originated from the term "boodle", which isAmericanmilitary slang forcontraband sweets[26] such ascake,candy andice cream. A "boodle fight" is a party in which boodle fare is served.[27] The term may have also been derived from "kit and caboodle"; caboodle is further derived fromboodle orbooty.[28]
A growing number of Filipino restaurants are serving meals boodle fight-style. In commercial contexts, the dishes in a boodle fight are arranged equidistantly throughout the table to ensure everyone has equal access. Rice is typically plain steamedwhite rice that is not too mushy,sinangag (garlic rice), or rice cooked in coconut leaves (puso). Typical dishes aside from rice, includesinihaw (barbecues, includinglechon, whole roasted pork),lumpia, fried meats (likecrispy pata),tocino (cured pork),tapa,longganisa (sausages),pancit (noodles), boiled eggs orsalted eggs, seafood, dried fish, and blanched, fresh, or stir-fried vegetables. These are provided with a variety ofsawsawan (dipping sauces),calamansi,bagoong, as well as pickled vegetables (atchara). Desserts are also included, like ripe or unripePhilippine mangoes, pineapples, watermelons, papaya, youngcoconut,leche flan, and variouskakanin (rice cakes). Drinks are usually fruit juices, beer, wine, orsoftdrinks. As a rule, soups and stews are not included.[6][5][29][30][31]
Media related toBoodle fight at Wikimedia Commons
