Kecak
Encyclopedia
Kecak is a form of Balinese dance and music drama, originated in the 1930s Bali
and is performed primarily by men, although a few women's kecak groups exist as of 2006.
Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 150 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.
ritual accompanied by male chorus
. German painter and musician Walter Spies
became deeply interested in the ritual while living in Bali
in the 1930s and worked to recreate it into a drama, based on the Hindu Ramayana
and including dance, intended to be presented to Western tourist audiences. This transformation is an example of what James Clifford
describes as part of the "modern art-culture system" in which, "the West or the central power adopts, transforms, and consumes non-Western or peripheral cultural elements, while making 'art' which was once embedded in the culture as a whole, into a separate entity." Spies worked with Wayan Limbak
and Limbak popularized the dance by traveling throughout the world with Balinese performance groups. These travels have helped to make the Kecak famous throughout the world.
Performer, choreographer, and scholar I Wayan Dibia cites a contrasting theory that the Balinese were already developing the form when Spies arrived on the island. For example, well-known dancer I Limbak had incorporated Baris
movements into the cak leader role during the 1920s. "Spies liked this innovation," and it suggested that Limbak, "devise a spectacle based on the Ramayana," accompanied by cak chorus rather than gamelan
, as would have been usual.
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
and is performed primarily by men, although a few women's kecak groups exist as of 2006.
Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 150 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
where the monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
-like Vanara
Vanara
Vānara popularly refers to a group of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. They possessed supernatural powers and could change their shapes...
helped Prince Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
fight the evil King Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang
Sanghyang
Sanghyang is a sacred Balinese dance, based on the idea that a force enters the body of an entranced performer. The force, identified as hyang, is important spiritual entities in ancient Indonesian mythology. Sanghyang dedari is a dance performed by pre-pubescent girls, similar in some ways to the...
, a trance-inducing exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
dance.
History
Kecak was originally a tranceTrance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
ritual accompanied by male chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. German painter and musician Walter Spies
Walter Spies
Walter Spies was a Russian-born German primitivist painter. In 1923 he came to Java, living first in Yogyakarta and then in Ubud, Bali starting in 1927. He is often credited with attracting the attention of Western cultural figures to Balinese culture and art.In 1937, Spies built what he described...
became deeply interested in the ritual while living in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
in the 1930s and worked to recreate it into a drama, based on the Hindu Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and including dance, intended to be presented to Western tourist audiences. This transformation is an example of what James Clifford
James Clifford
James Clifford is an historian and Professor in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Clifford and Hayden White were among the first faculty directly appointed to the History of Consciousness Ph.D. program in 1978, which was originally the only...
describes as part of the "modern art-culture system" in which, "the West or the central power adopts, transforms, and consumes non-Western or peripheral cultural elements, while making 'art' which was once embedded in the culture as a whole, into a separate entity." Spies worked with Wayan Limbak
Wayan Limbak
Wayan Limbak was an Indonesian dancer who worked with Walter Spies to create the Indonesian dance Kecak.-External links:* New York Times - September 14, 2003-References:...
and Limbak popularized the dance by traveling throughout the world with Balinese performance groups. These travels have helped to make the Kecak famous throughout the world.
Baris (dance)
Baris is a traditional war dance of Bali, accompanied by gamelan, in which a solo dancer depicts the feelings of a young warrior prior to battle, glorifying the man hood of the triumphant Balinese warrior and displaying the sublimity of his commanding presence. Originally it was performed as a...
movements into the cak leader role during the 1920s. "Spies liked this innovation," and it suggested that Limbak, "devise a spectacle based on the Ramayana," accompanied by cak chorus rather than gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
, as would have been usual.
In popular culture
- The 1971 version of Kenneth Anger's Rabbit's MoonRabbit's MoonRabbit’s Moon is an avant-garde short film by American filmmaker Kenneth Anger. Filmed in 1950, Rabbit's Moon was not completed until 1972...
incorporates Kecak into the soundtrack. - Footage of a kecak performance is prominently featured in Ron FrickeRon FrickeRon Fricke is an American film director and cinematographer, considered to be a master of time-lapse photography and large format cinematography. He was the director of photography for Koyaanisqatsi and directed the purely cinematic non-verbal non-narrative feature Baraka . He designed and used...
's 1992 film Baraka. - A kecak chant can be heard in Federico FelliniFederico FelliniFederico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's classic 1969 film SatyriconSatyricon (film)Satyricon is a 1969 Italian fantasy drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini. It is loosely based on Petronius's work, Satyricon, a series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome.-Plot:The film opens on a graffiti-covered...
. It was probably sampled from David LewistonDavid LewistonDavid Sidney George Lewiston is a London-born collector of the world's traditional music. He is best known for his recordings initially released on LP on the Explorer Series of Nonesuch Records beginning in 1967.-Biography:...
's 1969 LP of Balinese music entitled Golden Rain, released on the Nonesuch Explorer Series. - Dagger of Kamui (Kamui no Ken), an anime film released in 1985, incorporates kecak in its score, often in action scenes involving shinobiShinobiShinobi is the Japanese word for male ninja. It may also refer to:*Shinobi , a series of video games**Shinobi , the original video game in the series developed by Sega**Shinobi , the PlayStation 2 sequel...
. - Kecak chanting is incorporated into the soundtrack for the Japanese animated film AkiraAkira (film)is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....
(1988), which also uses the Indonesian gamelanGamelanA gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
prominently. - Kecak is heard in I Never Promised You a Rose GardenI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (film)I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a 1977 film based on the Joanne Greenberg novel of the same name.In the wake of the success of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Roger Corman was able to get funding for a movie version of Rose Garden. Bibi Andersson played Dr. Fried, while Kathleen Quinlan...
during fantasy sequences taking place in the heroine's paracosmParacosmA paracosm is a detailed imaginary world involving humans and/or animals, or perhaps even fantasy or alien creations. Often having its own geography, history, and language, it is an experience that is developed during childhood and continues over a long period of time: months or even years.The...
. - A Kecak-style dance and chant can be seen in the fantasy portion of Tarsem SinghTarsem SinghTarsem Dhandwar Singh , known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials.- Life and career :...
's film The FallThe Fall (2006 film)The Fall is a 2006 adventure fantasy film directed by Tarsem Singh, starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, and Justine Waddell. It is based on the screenplay of the 1981 Bulgarian film Yo Ho Ho by Valeri Petrov. The film earned $3.2 million worldwide. The film was released to theaters in 2008...
(2006), in which the Balinese actors incorporated words to describe the map being drawn. - John Adams' "A Flowering Tree," 2006. Kumudha and the beggar minstrels in Act II is based on the Kecak. (Cincinnati Opera pre-performance interview with the composer, 30 June 2011.)
- A sample of Kecak chanting kicks off The Pop GroupThe Pop GroupThe Pop Group are a British post-punk band from Bristol, England, formed in 1978, whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were often political in nature...
's 1980 album For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? was released on the Rough Trade label in 1980 by UK post-punk band The Pop Group. It featured a collaboration with American musical/poetry groupThe Last Poets... - There is a sample of Kecak chanting on "The Wind Chimes" from Mike OldfieldMike OldfieldMichael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's 1987 album Islands. - The San Francisco Art Rock band OxbowOxbow (band)Oxbow is a long-lived Avant-Garde band out of San Francisco, California notable for a unique sound. Oxbow plays a blend of Noise rock, Avant-garde jazz, Musique concrète , and Blues, creating soundscapes caustic, or plangent, with overtones of paranoia, revulsion, exaltation.-Current line-up:*Dan...
's song Daughter from their 1991 album King of the Jews incorporates Kecak-inspired polyrhythmic chanting and clapping throughout. - Mike PattonMike PattonMichael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
performs a Kecak-like chant that is incorporated in the song "Goodbye Sober Day" on the 1999 Mr. BungleMr. BungleMr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
album CaliforniaCalifornia (Mr. Bungle album)California is the final studio album by the band Mr. Bungle.Going by credits alone, Mike Patton contributed more to this album than any other member of the band. Additionally, it is also the most Patton had contributed to any Mr. Bungle album in terms of songwriting.It was supposed to be released...
. Patton had previously performed a similar passage of rhythmic chanting in the Faith No MoreFaith No MoreFaith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
song "Got That Feeling," from their 1997 Album of the Year. - A song from the debut album by musical group Hercules and Love AffairHercules and Love AffairHercules and Love Affair is a musical project from New York based DJ Andy Butler. Members include Andrew Butler, Kim Ann Foxman, Mark Pistel,Aerea Negrot, and Shaun Wright...
has an intro in the style of Kecak chanting. - A sample of Kecak chanting can be heard in the song "Soldier of Fortune" from Manhattan TransferManhattan TransferManhattan Transfer may refer to:* Manhattan Transfer , a Pennsylvania Railroad station in New Jersey* Manhattan Transfer , a 1925 novel by John Dos Passos* The Manhattan Transfer, a jazz, swing, R&B and pop group founded in 1969...
's album Bodies and SoulsBodies and SoulsBodies And Souls was released in September 1983, by The Manhattan Transfer on the Atlantic records label.This album took the Manhattan Transfer in a different direction from their previous releases, offering a new, revised style of their music. There were several collaborations on this album,...
. - A sample of Kecak chanting can be heard in the DevoDevoDevo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
song Jocko HomoJocko Homo"Jocko Homo" is the B-side to Devo's first single, "Mongoloid," released as a single in 1977 on Devo's own label, Booji Boy Records and later released in the UK on Stiff Records. The song was re-recorded as the feature song for Devo's first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! on Warner Bros....
. - A sample of Kecak chanting can be heard near the end of the Nurse With WoundNurse with WoundNurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
track "I Am Blind" from the album Homotopy to MarieHomotopy to MarieHomotopy To Marie is the fifth album by Nurse With Wound, released in 1982.Although Nurse With Wound had generated considerable interest across their preceding releases, Steven Stapleton has asserted to author David Keenan that Homotopy To Marie should be considered the first "real" NWW album...
. - David AttenboroughDavid AttenboroughSir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
's 1969 documentary for the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
The Miracle of BaliThe Miracle of BaliThe Miracle of Bali is a BBC series of cultural documentaries narrated by David Attenborough and first shown in 1969. The series comprises three programs about the culture of Bali. The complete series is available as a special feature on the DVD release of David Attenborough's 1975 series The...
on the arts in Bali featured the kecak in both the 1st and 3rd episodes. - A Kecak dance is performed in a Season 2 episode of MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Wildboyz, with Chris Pontius and Steve-O participating in the ritual during their stay in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. - Kecak chanting forms the basis of the song "The Oracle" in the Super NES video game Secret of ManaSecret of ManaSecret of Mana is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Square in 1993. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, and was ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
. - Kecak chanting is featured in the song "Kecak" in the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese music video game beatmania IIDXBeatmania IIDXis a series of rhythm video games and the sequel to Beatmania that was first introduced by Konami in Japan on February 26, 1999. IIDX has since spawned over 19 arcade releases and over 13 console releases on the Sony PlayStation 2...
11 – IIDX RED. Samples for this song are taken from Fellini's "Satyricon." - Kecak is a mini-game in Capcom's Breath of Fire IVBreath of Fire IVBreath of Fire IV, originally released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom, and is the fourth game in the Breath of Fire series. It was originally released for the Sony PlayStation home console in Japan and North America in 2000, and the PAL region in 2001...
video game for PlayStation. The player mimics the chants by timing button presses corresponding to the screen. - Kecak chanting is used as theme music for one of the unlock able enemy generals in the Atari game "Risk".
- Ketjak is a book-length poem by Ron Silliman published in 1978 and reprinted in The Age of Huts (2007), in which the author gives the title "Ketjak" to a vast ongoing cycle of works which includes Tjanting (1980) and The Alphabet (2008).
External links
- Treasures of the Asia Collections: The Ketjak Dance, Cornell University
- Bali Honeymoon: A Photo Gallery – Bali's Kecak Dance photo gallery
- WalterSpies.com – Describes Walter Spies' house in Bali and his Pita Maha artists' cooperative.