Kecak: Whether an ablaze portrayal of the Balinese culture or not

The Kecak is one of the most famous dance forms presented to the rest of the world by the Balinese people. The performance can be parallelled with the jatra-pala from Bengal with at least 45-50 men arranging themselves in concentric circles and chanting the sound “cak-cak-cakcak” (read “chak-chak-chakchak”) in various rhythm, tone and intensity from time to time. It is mandatory to mention the fact that there is no use of orchestra, dialogue or instrument and the only sound is the monkey chant of the 50 men as they call it so. The men interweave almost seven rhythms creating great background music catering to the dance performance throughout. The curtailed story of the Ramayana has given the tourists from everywhere a taste of the Balinese culture that many believes to be ’authentic and traditional’. However, as we all know how famous the Island of Gods, Bali, is famous for its tourist attractions, not only does kecak performances portray the tradition of the Balinese people in a worldwide platform but also it has become a source of income for the local people. Kecak has been an attraction for the tourists since the 1930s, more so the western tourists who have very minimum idea regarding the Ramayana. I have witnessed the Kecak performance the Uluwatu temple and many enjoy the same over there, however, many villages (desa and banjar) have created their own little groups for kecak performances which are not considered to be in line with the Balinese Kreasi baru or the new music. The objective of this paper is to acknowledge people around me regarding this unique and brilliant performance that is still so underrated and to show how dance, music and storytelling are interconnected in the same form of art.