Kecak
There is a scene in Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom that I saw when I was very young that has stayed with me forever. It happens inside the temple where everyone is chanting and Mola Ram, the High Priest, walks up to a man who is tied up and takes his heart out through his chest. There is fire all around and in the middle of everything Mola Ram raises the still-beating heart.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
thump.
In Batubulan, Bali, we are watching the Kecak ritual and there is a repeated uttering of words and I feel as if my breathing becomes in tune with the chanting. I walk a little closer, close enough that I can see the sweat on the chanters’ foreheads.
The elderly woman to my left is startled by my movement — a testament to the intensity of the moment. It is trance-inducing.
Even now as I write this post I find myself reciting the words:
Chak. Chak. Chak. Chak. Chak.
Chak. Chak. Chak.
Kechak. Kechak. Kechak.
Tonight, you see the fire making outlines of cheeks, noses and shoulders and the most spellbinding of all is when they suddenly raise their arms and do this repeated gesture of the shaking of the hands and then their bodies wave left to right hastily as if they were being taken over.
There are several circular layers of men squatting on the floor. They are of different ages, young men, middle aged men and the more senior looking ones sometimes sing in solo — their chants controlled, often higher pitched.
Then the men in the innermost circle suddenly fall back, their heads resting on the chests of those behind them. They sway, not in a pattern but still harmoniously. Some leaning to the left and others to the right
They are like opposing human pendulums weaving into each other.
“HAH!”
A man wearing a fanged mask shouts as he emerges. I share a startled jerk with my seatmate.
The Ramayana Monkey Chant or Kecak is a musical ritual traditionally made up of a hundred or so men, singing without instruments, swaying, dancing, and being in a trance-like state. The chants are repeated in varied tones and pitch and creates a melodious and sometimes hypnotizing chorus.
Its ancient purpose was to communicate with deities and ancestors to ask for protection from evil spirits. Its modern form, however, tells of a different message: it is a theatrical retelling of parts of the epic Ramayana, particularly the love triangle between Prince Rama, Sita and the demon King Rahwana. It is a beautiful dance.
On the platform there are two men in masks acting out a fight and the chanting becomes louder. I suppose this is Rama versus Rahwana. They run around pretend-hitting each other with bare hands. Soon, the evil king Rahwana is defeated, falls, gets up and they both run out of sight into the dark background. A large bonfire is lit and the flames grow tall and bright. The victor reappears, only this time he rides a legless horse made of leaves. He starts to sing, and hop, and spin and then throws himself into the fire!
The crowd gasps. Surprise!
The horseman gets up and starts to kick the flames. He hops around the fire only to throw himself into it once more. And again. Repeatedly until the flames are scattered.
The crowd starts to clap and go on clapping until the performance is done. The atmosphere is captivating.
The Kecak is a unique cultural experience. I can’t think of another public ceremony that I have seen that can compare to its intensity. I’ll have to go back in time to that day when I was a young kid who sat in front of a television screen and watched that old classic swashbuckling tale of the Temple of Doom for me to somehow understand its impression on me. If you are ever in Bali, you should find out where they do the ceremony. Find the ones in the outskirts — away from the tourist centers and preferably on a full moon and then sit back and just watch this truly mesmerizing celebration of humanity.
P.S.
If you need a guide to Ubud and neighboring areas, we were introduced to a most knowledgeable and amiable one in Putu Arnawa. I highly recommend his services. His website is at balifriend.com
All photographs by Johanna Velasco Deutsch
About Mark & Jo
Mark and Johanna Deutsch work out of an art collective based in the island of Cebu called Happy Garaje. They are painters, illustrators, storytellers and travellers. For creative work you may e-mail people@happygaraje.com.
