Kamayan ( Tagalog for " atingwith the hands"), also known as kinamot or kinamut in

Visayan languages The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. M ...

, is the traditional

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

method of eating with the bare hands. It is also used to describe the Filipino communal

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

(also called a salu-salo) where food is served on banana leaves and eaten without utensils. Another term for kamayan is boodle fight which is used in the context of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

practice of eating a communal

meal A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. Although they c ...

Etymology

Both "kamayan" and "kinamot" mean " atingwith the hands", from the root words and , both meaning "hands". " Salu-salo" means "feast" or "banquet", a reduplication of , "to eat together" or "to share food". Sources indicate that the term "boodle" is American

military slang Military slang is an array of colloquial terminology used commonly by military personnel, including slang which is unique to or originates with the armed forces. In English-speaking countries, it often takes the form of abbreviations/acronyms or d ...

for contraband sweets such as cake, candy and

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

. A "boodle fight" is a party in which boodle fare is served. The term may have also been derived from " kit and caboodle"; caboodle is further derived from

boodle Boodle is a slang term for money derived from the Dutch word 'boedel' meaning property or estate. Afrikaans inherited the word and its meaning from the Dutch, which probably accounts for its widespread use for money amongst English-speaking Sout ...

booty Booty may refer to: Music *Booty music (also known as Miami bass or booty bass), a subgenre of hip hop * "Booty" (Jennifer Lopez song), 2014 *Booty (Blac Youngsta song), 2017 * Booty (C. Tangana and Becky G song), 2018 *"Booty", a 1993 song by G ...

History

The practice of kamayan is pre-colonial. It has been described in by

Antonio Pigafetta Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an Venetian scholar and explorer. He joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of the emperor Charles V and after Magellan's death in the Philippine Islands, ...

in the

Magellan expedition The Magellan expedition, also known as the Magellan–Elcano expedition, was the first voyage around the world in recorded history. It was a 16th century Spanish expedition initially led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to the Moluccas ...

, as well as by Spanish missionaries during the Spanish colonial period. While utensils like wooden spoons and ladles existed for serving and cooking in pre-colonial Filipino culture, they were not used for eating. The practice was tolerated during the Spanish period, but it was suppressed during the

American colonial period The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

when American dining etiquette and the use of spoons and forks were aggressively promoted.

Description

Kamayan 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 (the ), 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. 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. In the

Batanes Islands Batanes, officially the Province of Batanes ( ivv, Provinsiya nu Batanes; Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Batanes''; fil, Lalawigan ng Batanes, ), is an archipelagic province in the Philippines, administratively part of the Cagayan Valley region. It i ...

in the northern Philippines, large breadfruit () leaves are used instead in a serving tradition called or . The dishes are arranged equidistantly throughout the table to ensure everyone has equal access. Rice are typically plain steamed

white rice White rice is milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed. This alters the flavor, texture and appearance of the rice and helps prevent spoilage, extend its storage life, and makes it easier to digest. After milling ( hulling), t ...

that is not too mushy,

sinangag ''Sinangag'' (), also called garlic fried rice or garlic rice, is a Filipino fried rice dish cooked by stir-frying pre-cooked rice with garlic. The rice used is preferably stale, usually leftover cooked rice from the previous day, as it result ...

(garlic rice), or rice cooked in coconut leaves ( puso). Typical dishes aside from rice, includes

inihaw Inihaw ( ), also known as sinugba or inasal, are various types of grilled or pit-roasted barbecue dishes from the Philippines. They are usually made from pork or chicken and are served on bamboo skewers or in small cubes with a soy sauce and ...

(barbecues, including

lechon A suckling pig is a piglet fed on its mother's milk (i.e., a piglet which is still a " suckling"). In culinary contexts, a suckling pig is slaughtered between the ages of two and six weeks. It is traditionally cooked whole, often roasted, ...

, whole roasted pork),

lumpia ''Lumpia'' are various types of spring rolls commonly found in the Philippines and Indonesia. Lumpia are made of thin paper-like or crepe-like pastry skin called "lumpia wrapper" enveloping savory or sweet fillings. It is often served as an ap ...

, fried meats (like

crispy pata Crispy pata is a Filipino dish consisting of deep fried pig trotters or knuckles served with a soy-vinegar dip. It can be served as party fare or an everyday dish. Many restaurants serve ''boneless pata'' as a specialty. The dish is quite s ...

tocino Tocino is bacon in Spanish, typically made from the pork belly and often formed into cubes in Spain. In Caribbean countries, such as Puerto Rico and Cuba, ''tocino'' is made from pork fatback and is neither cured nor smoked but simply fried un ...

(cured pork), tapa,

longganisa Longaniza (, or ) is a Spanish sausage (embutido) similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça. Its defining characteristics are interpreted differently from region to region. It is popular in the cuisines ...

(sausages),

pancit Pancit ( ), also spelled pansít, is a general term referring to various traditional noodle dishes in Filipino cuisine. There are numerous types of pancit, often named based on the noodles used, method of cooking, place of origin, or the ingr ...

(noodles), boiled eggs or

salted egg Salting or Salted may refer to: People *George Salting (1835–1909), Australian-born English art collector, who left the Salting Bequest, which included the ** ''Salting Madonna'' (Antonello da Messina), National Gallery, London Other * Salting ...

s, seafood, dried fish, and blanched, fresh, or stir-fried vegetables. These are provided with a variety of

sawsawan The generic term for condiments in the Filipino cuisine is ''sawsawan'' (Philippine Spanish: ''sarsa''). Unlike sauces in other Southeast Asian regions, most ''sawsawan'' are not prepared beforehand, but are assembled on the table according to t ...

(dipping sauces),

calamansi Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is an economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, ...

, bagoong, as well as pickled vegetables (

atchara ''Atchara'' (also spelled ''achara'' or ''atsara'') is a pickle made from grated unripe papaya originating from the Philippines. This dish is often served as a side dish for fried or grilled foods such as pork barbecue. History The nam ...

). Desserts are also included, like ripe or unripe

Philippine mango The Carabao mango, also known as the Philippine mango or Manila mango, is a variety of particularly sweet mango from the Philippines. It is one of the most important varieties of mango cultivated in the Philippines. The variety is reputed inter ...

es, pineapples, watermelons, papaya, young coconut,

leche flan Leche (Spanish: "milk") may refer to: * Leche (surname) * ''Leche'' (Fobia album), 1993 * ''Leche'' (Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas album), 1999 * ''Leche'', a 2010 album by Gregory and the Hawk * Leche frita, a Spanish sweet See also * ...

, and various

kakanin A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...

(rice cakes). Drinks are usually fruit juices, beer, wine, or

softdrink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a s ...

s. As a rule, soups and stews are not included. 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 in gatherings, parties, picnics, or . A growing number of Filipino restaurants are serving meals kamayan-style.

Boodle fight

A boodle fight is a meal that dispenses with cutlery and dishes. Diners instead practice kamayan. The food is placed on top of a long

banana leaf The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

-lined

trestle table In woodworking, a trestle table is a table consisting of two or three trestle supports, often linked by a stretcher (longitudinal cross-member), over which a board or tabletop is placed. In the Middle Ages, the trestle table was often litt ...

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. A senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

enlisted Enlisted may refer to: * Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...

personnel then utters the traditional command for the boodle fight to begin:

"Ready on the left, Ready on the right, Commence boodle fight!"

References

External links

* {{Filipino cuisine Eating parties Serving and dining Armed Forces of the Philippines Philippine cuisine Military life