Kecak

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A Kecak dance being performed at Uluwatu, in Bali
A Kecak dance being performed at Uluwatu, in Bali

Kecak (pronounced: /'ke.tʃak/, roughly "KEH-chahk", alternate spellings: Ketjak, Ketjack, and Ketiak), a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men. Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 100 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.

In the 1930s Wayan Limbak worked with German painter Walter Spies to create the Kecak from movements and themes in the traditional sanghyang exorcism ritual and the portions of the Ramayana. This collaboration between artists worked to create a dance that was both authentic to Balinese traditions but also palatable to Western tourist's narrow tastes at the time. Wayan Limbak popularized the dance by travelling throughout the world with Balinese performance groups. These travels have helped to make the Kecak famous throughout the world.

[edit] In popular culture

  • Video of a Kecak performance is prominently featured in the 1992 film Baraka. Several audio recordings are commercially available.
  • Kecak chanting forms the basis of the song "The Oracle" in the Super NES video game Secret of Mana.
  • Kecak chanting is featured in the song "Kecak" in the Japanese music video game beatmania IIDX 11 – IIDX RED. Songwriter John Robinson got inspiration for this song from the Kecak dance.
  • Kecak, performed by Mike Patton, is also incorporated in the song "Goodbye Sober Day" on the 1999 Mr. Bungle album California. Patton had previously performed a Kecak-like passage of rhythmic chanting in the Faith No More song "Got That Feeling," from 1997's Album of the Year.
  • Kecak is a mini-game in Capcom's Breath of Fire IV video game for PlayStation. The player mimics the chants by timing button presses corresponding to the screen.
  • A Kecak chant is played during the closing credits of the Asian-influenced show Avatar: The Last Airbender.
  • A Kecak dance is performed in a Season 2 episode of MTV's Wildboyz, with Chris Pontius and Steve-O eagerly participating in the ritual during their stay in Indonesia. Here it is referred to as a "Sardono Kecak".
  • A Kecak chant can be heard in Federico Fellini's classic 1969 film Satyricon; it was probably sampled from David Lewiston's 1969 LP of Balinese music entitled Golden Rain, released on the Nonesuch Explorer Series
  • A Kecak dance and chant can be seen in Tarsem Singh's film The Fall (2006).
  • The chant is heard during a scene in the Coen Brothers' film "Blood Simple."
  • A sort of Kecak chant can be heard in Jade Warrior's "Floating World" side-B album, called simply "Monkey Chant". It has been mixed including a Jimi Hendrix-like guitar solo (played by David Duhig).
  • A song from the debut album by musical group Hercules and Love Affair has an intro in the style of Kecak chanting.

[edit] External links

[edit] Listening