A boodle fight is a communal Filipino dining tradition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, originally practiced by Philippine Military Academy cadets and named after military slang from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Food is served directly on large leaves, such as banana or breadfruit, spread along a table, and diners eat with their hands, without plates or utensils, standing or sitting side by side. The purpose of the tradition is to build military camaraderie by having personnel share the same food together regardless of rank, and while it is related to the older Filipino practice of eating by hand known as kamayan, the two are not identical, since not every boodle fight follows the pre-colonial communal-feast form associated with kamayan, and not every kamayan meal is a boodle fight.
Facts
Origin Period, From (Year)Sourced to the subject's own account Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own accountPhilippines; originated within the Armed Forces of the Philippines, first practiced by Philippine Military Academy cadets, adapting West Point military slang. 1 Connections
Open Questions
Source Boodle fight (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Boodle fight (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section, third paragraph
the boodle fight, a tradition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines originally practiced by Philippine Military Academy cadets, and named for military slang from the United States Military Academy West Point.
History, Boodle fight subsection
With the American colonization of the Philippines, the term "boodle" was carried over to the communal meals the Philippine armed forces ate in training and in the field, often off leaves and by hand due to necessity due to lack of utensils and plates.
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
When did the Armed Forces of the Philippines' boodle fight tradition begin among Philippine Military Academy cadets?
Wikipedia's Kamayan article describes the boodle fight as a tradition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, originally practiced by Philippine Military Academy cadets and named for military slang from the United States Military Academy West Point, but names no year, decade or bounding period for when PMA cadets began the practice. A search of further secondary accounts found the same description with no added date.
What would resolve this A Philippine Military Academy institutional history, a military historian's account, or a dated news reference naming when cadets began this specific communal eating custom.
Military and food historyBoodle fight (Wikipedia)
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