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Kecak Monkey Dance
Kecak Probably the best known of the many Balinese dances, the Kecak is unusual because it doesn't have a gamelan accompaniment. Instead, the background is provided by a chanting 'choir' of men who provide the 'chak-a-chak-a-chak' noise which distinguishes the dance. Originally this chanting group was known as the Kecak and they were part of a Sanghyang trance dance. Then in the 1930s the modern Kecak developed in Bona, a village near Gianyar, where the dance is still held regularly. The Kecak tells the tale of the Ramayana (see the Java chapter for a rundown of the story), the quest of Prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita after she had been kidnapped by Rawana, the King of Lanka. Rama is accompanied to Lanka by Sugriwa, the king of the monkeys, with his monkey army. Throughout the Kecak dance, the circle of men, all bare-chested and wearing checked cloth around their waists, provide a nonstop accompaniment, rising to a crescendo as they play the monkey army and fight it out with Rawana and his cronies. The chanting is accompanied by the movements of the monkey army whose members sway back and forth, raise their hands in unison, flutter their fingers and lean left and right, all with an eerily exciting coordination.-From Lonely Planet
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copyright © 2014 Joseph P. Giardina All Rights Reserved |
