Kecak Fire Dance: From Trance Ritual to Tourist Must-See

We did a must-see touristy thing in Ubud, Bali!

Kecak Fire Dance is a Balinese dance performing the epic story, Ramayana, by a circle of as many as 150 performers wearing checked cloths around their waists, percussively chanting "chak", and moving their hands and arms.

Kecak was originally a trance ritual accompanied by a male chanting chorus. Its ancient purpose was to communicate with deities and ancestors to ask for protection from evil spirits.

The chanting was, by far, the most mesmerizing part of the whole performance. It sounded like a tribal form of what we consider beatboxing and vocal percussion today. Amazing talent.

In the 1930s, Walter Spies, a German painter /musician, and the Indonesian dancer Wayan Limbak, adapted Kecak as a drama based on the Hindu Ramayana intended for performance before Western tourist audiences.

The Ramayana is one of the most important epic stories from ancient India. It tells the tale of Rama, a legendary prince who must rescue his wife, Sita, who is kidnapped by the demon King Ravana and her eventual rescue with the aid of the monkey king, Hanuman.

Hanuman is a Hindu god whose shape is half-monkey, half-human. He is the most devoted follower of Prince Rama. Hanuman has special powers and qualities that he uses to help Rama rescue his wife Sita. Because Hanuman uses his powers in the service of others, he has come to symbolize the perfect Hindu who has lots of special qualities but is not selfish with them, and uses his abilities to help people.