Kecak

History

Kecak began as a trance ritual accompanied by a male chorus. In the 1930s, German painter and musician Walter Spies, while living in Bali, adapted the ritual into a drama based on the Hindu Ramayana, intended for Western tourist audiences.

Spies worked with Indonesian dancer Wayan Limbak, who popularized the dance through international tours. This adaptation has been described by James Clifford as part of the modern art-culture system, where Western powers adopt and transform non-Western cultural elements. However, I Wayan Dibia, a performer and scholar, contends that Balinese performers were already developing the form before Spies arrived; for instance, Limbak had incorporated baris movements into the cak leader role in the 1920s, and Spies suggested creating a Ramayana spectacle with a cak chorus instead of gamelan.

Performance

The kecak dance typically involves fifty to one hundred bare-chested men wearing only loincloths, who form concentric circles around a traditional Balinese coconut oil lamp. They begin by moving rhythmically side to side, chanting 'chak ke-chak ke-chak ke-chak' in coordinated harmony, gradually increasing speed and lifting their trembling hands. The performance uses only the human voice, with no musical instruments. The chanters portray Rama's Vanara troops and Ravana's Rakshasa demons.

The story, drawn from the Ramayana, lasts about an hour and includes Sita and Rama's exile, the Golden Deer, Sita's abduction by Ravana, the battle with Jatayu, Hanuman's search for Sita, and the final battle between Rama and Ravana. Performances occur daily in the evening at Balinese Hindu temples such as Uluwatu Temple and Tanah Lot, as well as at dedicated stages in Ubud, Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Batu Bulan, Pandawa beach, and other locations. Dancers are typically local villagers who finish their main jobs before performing, and their income comes from ticket sales.

In popular culture

Excerpts of kecak appear on soundtracks of films including Edipo Re (1967), Fellini Satyricon (1969), Incontro d'amore (1970), Kenneth Anger's Rabbit's Moon (1971 version), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), the Japanese series Space Sheriff Gavan episode 6 (1982), Blood Simple (1984, track 'Monkey Chant'), Dagger of Kamui (1985), Akira (1988), Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005), and the documentary SAS: The Search for Warriors Part 1 (2010).

A part of Mitsuri's theme in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba also features kecak. Visual depictions occur in David Attenborough's The Miracle of Bali (1969), Incontro d'amore (1970), Mama (1972), Emmanuelle 2 (1975), Noesa Penida (1988), Baraka (1992), The Fall (2006), and Bali TV's opening theme since 2011. Video games incorporating kecak include Secret of Mana (1993, track 'The Oracle'), The King of Fighters '97 (with a Bali arena scene), Tetris Effect (Ritual Passion level), and Dota 2 (Monkey King ultimate ability).

In popular music, samples appear in Jade Warrior's 'Money Chant' on Floating World (1974) and Devo's 'Jocko Homo' on Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978).