A Kecak dance being performed at Uluwatu, in Bali

Kecak (pronounced: "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 monkeys help Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2576x1952, 1476 KB)I took this. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2576x1952, 1476 KB)I took this. ... The temple at Uluwatu Pura Luhur is a Balinese Sea Temple at Uluwatu on Bali. ... This is the current Indonesian Collaboration of the week. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The (Devanāgarī: ) is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and is an important part of the Hindu canon (smṛti). ... Lord Sri Rama (center) with wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman. ... A dipiction of Ravana, Hindu rakshasa King of Lanka In Hindu mythology, Ravana (Devanagari: रावण, IAST ; sometimes transliterated Raavana and as Ravan) is the principal antagonist of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. ... Saint Francis exorcised demons in Arezzo, fresco of Giotto Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person of which they have possessed (taken control of). ...

In the 1930's 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 traveling throughout the world with Balinese performance groups. These travels have helped to make the Kecak famous throughout the world. Wayan Limbak (1897 - August 31, 2003) was an Indonesian dancer who worked with Walter Spies to create the Indonesian dance Kecak. ... Walter Spies (September 15, 1895–January 19, 1942) was a Russian-born German primitivist painter. ...

Video of a Kecak performance is prominently featured in the 1992 film Baraka. Several audio recordings are commercially available. Baraka (1992) is an experimental documentary film directed by Ron Fricke, cinematographer for Koyaanisqatsi and the other Qatsi films by Godfrey Reggio. ...

The 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. beatmania IIDX (alternately beatmaniaIIDX or just IIDX, pronounced two dee-ecks or two deluxe) is a series of rhythm video games introduced by Konami in 1999. ...

Kecak, performed by Mike Patton, is also incoporated in the song "Goodbye Sober Day" on the Mr. Bungle album California. Mr. ... California is a 1999 (see 1999 in music) album by the band Mr. ...

Kecak is a mini-game in Capcom's Breath of Fire 4 video game for playstation. You mimic the chants by timing button presses as they correspond on the screen

External links

• http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/asiaTreasures/southeast_asia/Ketjak_dance.htm
• Bali's Kecak Dance - Photo gallery by Andy Carvin and Susanne Carvin
• http://arts.ucsc.edu/music/swarasanti/bali/kecak.html
• http://www.chiengfa.com/otherplaces/indo/kecek.html

Listening

• UbuWeb Ethnopoetics: Ketjak: The Ramayana Monkey Chant