Filipino Hand-Eaten Feast | Kamayan

The Filipino Kamayan feast in which diners eat with their hands, sharing heaps of rice and viands on a central table covered in banana leaves is also referred to as a Boodle Fight. It finds its origins in the Philippines’ history of US imperialism and militarism, from military practices in West Point of eating together across rank and made its appearance in Philippine militarized civic education. The Filipino Kamayan has now entered into transpacific diplomatic gatherings and urban diasporic culinary tourism initiatives in North America and the Middle East. The Filipino Kamayan or Boodle Fight is made to symbolize the break-down of ranks in favor of a collective Philippine culinary nationalism.

Source: Bender, D. E., & De Leon, A. (2018). Everybody was boodle fighting: military histories, culinary tourism, and diasporic dining. Food, Culture & Society, 21(1), 25-41.