Kecak (pronounced [ˈketʃaʔ] , alternate spellings: Ketjak and Ketjack) is a form of Balinese dance and music drama that developed in the 1930s in Bali, Indonesia . It is performed primarily by men, although since 2006, a few women's kecak groups have existed. [1] Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of at least 150 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and moving their hands and arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana . The monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana . Kecak has roots in sanghyang , a trance-inducing exorcism dance. [2] History Kecak was originally a trance ritual accompanied by male chorus . In the 1930s, Walter Spies , a German painter and musician, became deeply interested in the ritual while living in Bali. He adapted it as a drama, based on the Hindu Ramayana and including dance, intended for performance before Western tourist audiences. This is an example of what James Clifford describes as part of the "modern art-culture system" [3] 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." [4] Spies worked with Wayan Limbak , who popularized the dance by arranging for performances by Balinese groups touring internationally. These tours have helped make the kecak internationally known.

Kecak dance