"Cak-cak-cak". The obsessive sound of a choir from beyond the dust of ages suddenly rises between the lofty. Darkness looms over the stage. hundreds of bare-breasted men sit in a circle around the flickering light of an oil lamp chandelier, 'Cak-cak". They start dancing to the rhythmic sound of their own voice, their hands raised to the sky and bodies shaking in unison. This in the unique Kecak, perhaps the most popular of all Balinese dance.
Visitors rarely leave the island of Bali without first seeing a kecak performance. Originally the kecak was just
an element of the older Sang Hyang trance dance. It consisten of a male choir praying obsessively to the souls of their ancestor. At the initiative of painter Walter Spies, this religious choir was transformed into a dance by peoviding epic. The prince Rama, his wife Sita and his brother Laksamana are exiled in the middle of the forest. Rama goes hunting a golden deer at the request of his wife, who saw the strange animal and has asked him to catch it. While he is away, she is kidnapped by Rawana and taken to the latter's island kingdom of Alengka (Srilangka).
Rama allies himself with the monkeys and in particular with the withe monkey Hanuman. They build a bridge and cross to the island. War ensues until finally Rama defeats Rawana and is again united with his faithful wife.
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See also other Balinese Dances:
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