Kecak a form of
BaliBali is an Indonesian island located at the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island....
nese 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
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon . The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being Mahabharata...
where the
monkeyA monkey is any cercopithecoid or platyrrhine primate. All primates that are not prosimians or apes are monkeys. The 264 known extant monkey species represent two of the three groupings of simian primates...
-like
VanaraVanara popularly refers to the race of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. The term Vanara can be described as forest-dweller...
helped Prince
RamaRama or Ramachandra is the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a legendary king of Ayodhya in ancient India...
fight the evil King
RavanaRavana is a character in Hindu and Srilankan history, a powerful legendary king who ruled in Ancient Lanka and is the primary antagonist in the Ramayan epic....
.
Kecak a form of
BaliBali is an Indonesian island located at the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island....
nese 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
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon . The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being Mahabharata...
where the
monkeyA monkey is any cercopithecoid or platyrrhine primate. All primates that are not prosimians or apes are monkeys. The 264 known extant monkey species represent two of the three groupings of simian primates...
-like
VanaraVanara popularly refers to the race of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. The term Vanara can be described as forest-dweller...
helped Prince
RamaRama or Ramachandra is the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a legendary king of Ayodhya in ancient India...
fight the evil King
RavanaRavana is a character in Hindu and Srilankan history, a powerful legendary king who ruled in Ancient Lanka and is the primary antagonist in the Ramayan epic....
. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing
exorcismExorcism is the practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
dance.
Kecak was originally a
tranceTrance 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
chorusA 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 is called a choir or chorus...
. German painter and musician
Walter SpiesWalter 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...
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
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon . The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being Mahabharata...
and including dance, intended to be presented to Western tourist audiences. This transformation is an example of what
James CliffordJames Clifford is a 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 graduate...
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 LimbakWayan Limbak was an Indonesian dancer who worked with Walter Spies to create the Indonesian dance Kecak.-External links:* New York Times - September 14, 2003...
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 where already developing the form when Spies arrived on the island. For example, well-known dancer I Limbak had incorporated
BarisBaris 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
gamelanA 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.
Film
- The 1971 version of Kenneth Anger's Rabbit's Moon
Rabbit's Moon is a short avant-garde film directed by Kenneth Anger in the style of both mime and Kabuki theatre. The title refers to the Japanese myth about a rabbit on the moon. The story focuses on Pierrot trying to obtain the unattainable moon. Harlequin appears and entertains Pierrot with...
incorporates Kecak into the soundtrack.
- Footage of a kecak performance is prominently featured in Ron Fricke
Ron 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 Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian film director. 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.- Rimini :Federico Fellini was born on January 20, 1920 to...
's classic 1969 film SatyriconSatyricon is a 1969 Italian film 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...
. It was probably sampled from David LewistonDavid 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 shinobi
Shinobi is the Japanese word for male ninja. It may also refer to:*Shinobi , the original video game developed by Sega**Shinobi , the PlayStation 2 sequel...
.
- Kecak chanting is incorporated into the soundtrack for the Japanese animated film Akira
is a 1988 anime film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his hit manga. The film is set in a futuristic and post-war city, Neo-Tokyo, in 2019...
(1988), which also uses the Indonesian gamelanA 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.
- A Kecak-style dance and chant can be seen in the fantasy portion of Tarsem Singh
Tarsem Singh Dhandwar , known professionally simply as "Tarsem" is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials.He is a graduate of Art Center College of Design, located in Pasadena, California...
's film The FallThe Fall is a film 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 over $3 million worldwide and was met with mixed reviews...
(2006), in which the Balinese actors incorporated words to describe the map being drawn.
- The chant is heard during a scene in the Coen Brothers
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers. For more than twenty years, the pair have written and directed numerous successful films, ranging from screwball comedies to hardboiled thrillers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, known together...
' film Blood SimpleBlood Simple. is a 1985 neo-noir crime film. It was the directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen, and the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a noted director...
(1985).
- A Kecak chant is shown for a few minutes close to the end of the erotic French drama Emmanuelle 2
Emmanuelle 2 is a 1975 French softcore erotica movie directed by Francis Giacobetti, and starring Sylvia Kristel. The screenplay was written by Bob Elia and Francis Giacobetti, based on novel Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman by Emmanuelle Arsan...
(1975), when the main characters go to Bali.
Pop music
- A sample of Kecak chanting kicks off The Pop Group
The Pop Group was a post-punk band from Bristol, England whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were political in nature more often than not....
's 1980 album 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 Poésie Noire's 1989 album Love Is Colder Than Death roughly 1 minutes 50 seconds into the song "Les excuses".
- Mike Patton
Michael Allan Patton is an American singer, songwriter, composer, producer, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist, film actor, and voice actor, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Faith No More. He has also handled lead vocals for Mr...
performs a Kecak-like chant that is incorporated in the song "Goodbye Sober Day" on the 1999 Mr. BungleMr. Bungle was an experimental rock/avant-garde metal group 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...
album CaliforniaCalifornia is the final album by the band Mr. Bungle. Many people are of the opinion that it is by far the band's most accessible, and 'normal' album. Rolling Stone has put this in various "essential albums" lists....
. Patton had previously performed a similar passage of rhythmic chanting in the Faith 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, frontman Mike Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Wade Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
song "Got That Feeling," from their 1997 Album of the Year.
- A sort of Kecak chant can be heard in Jade Warrior
Jade Warrior are a British music group that were formed in 1970, evolving out of the band July. The founding members were Tony Duhig , Jon Field and Glyn Havard...
's Floating WorldFloating World, a CD based upon a Japanese Fairy Tale is the first full length album by Anathallo, self-released in 2006. "Floating World" is the English translation of the Japanese concept of Ukiyo.-Album text:
...
side-B album, called simply "Monkey Chant". It has been mixed including a Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
-like guitar solo (played by David Duhig).
- A song from the debut album by musical group Hercules and Love Affair
Hercules and Love Affair is a musical project from New York based DJ Andy Butler. Members include Andrew Butler and Kim Ann Foxman. It is signed to DFA Records....
has an intro in the style of Kecak chanting.
- RMB Band Rolf Maier Bodes Farid Gharadjedaghi/ RMB - Baraka, RMB - Chakka Chakka.
TV
- A Kecak chant is played during the closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture or television program to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the background or a...
of the AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
n-influenced show Avatar: The Last AirbenderAvatar: The Last Airbender was a American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon and the Nicktoons Network. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
.
- A Kecak dance is performed in a Season 2 episode of MTV
MTV is a cable television network based in New York City and 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 eagerly participating in the ritual during their stay in IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Here it is referred to as a "Sardono Kecak".
Video game
- Kecak chanting forms the basis of the song "The Oracle" in the Super NES video game Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana, known in Japan as , 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 is to be ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
.
- Kecak chanting is featured in the song "Kecak" in the Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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 IIDXis a series of rhythm video games that was first introduced by Konami in Japan on February 26, 1999. IIDX has since spawned over 17 arcade releases and over 15 console releases on the Sony Playstation 2...
11 – IIDX RED. Songwriter John Robinson got inspiration for this song from the kecak dance.
- Kecak is a mini-game in Capcom's Breath of Fire IV
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.
External links
Listening