Kecak, round two (and Robbie's double...)

Last night I went to another Kecak Ramayana and Fire performance, this time performed by Taman Kaja at Pura Dalem in Ubud.


This one was staged outside, in the newly refurbished temple, which was quite beautiful (candlelit, without the walks on the beach feeling). Unlike the last show, the audience were placed quite far away from the action, so the chanting was a lot softer. The storyteller didn't have a billowing voice as the last, but it was still melodic and carried over the the sound of the monkey chatter. I still got a excited sit-on-the-edge-of-me-chair feeling when the chorus spilled onto the stage...


Before I continue, I managed to spot Robbie Magasiva in the crowd. In fact, he was chanting, front row...


Nah, just jokes. But FYI, his doppelganger actually lives in Bali.


The dancing was the best part of this performance. Both Rama and Sita were played by women (Rama's a pretty girly boy anyways)...

And baddies with funny laughs (played by men though, disappointingly). At one stage one of them pulled a head out of a cloth bag. I can't remember where that came in the story, but it was a pretty sweet moment (you can just make him out in the background)...


Favorite character alert: Hanoman. Great monkey moves, he would squat down (like a grand plié in second position) and then jump up, popping his torso from side to side. There was also Sugriva, the red monkey king, in the show. As you can imagine, I'm happy with any monkey in a show, so two of them and I was in monkey heaven.



And of course, the part we were all waiting for: The Trance. I've probably failed to mention that last week a few people here managed to catch a trance ceremony at a temple (not a public performances) which included young men stabbing themselves repetitively with a kris. We're talking frenzy/people being carried out of the temple here. Needless to say, that didn't happen tonight. Anyway, here are the flaming coconuts...

As is tradition, the horse rider came out, enticed by the kecak, and then everytime the second part of the chorus sung this dinky little song he would run at the pile of flaming husks. He did this with his eyes closed.


Unlike the last guy, they made a real spectacle out of 'catching' the horseman and calming him down, and he sat in a relatively meditative state after the show, head bowed, on the concrete (the other guy flashed some peace signs for the paparazzi and rode through the crowds on his wee 150cc motorbike post show).

Many people gave him money/offerings as well, including many children from the Banjar, and some tourists.

Tonight I am going to watch Ibu Ayu perform with her group at a show just out of Ubud, I am looking forward to the refined, feminine, strong moves of the Legong dance.

Mask update and Kecak...

Last night at kecak we learnt the song part of the chant. It is a beautiful melody, dancing over the pentatonic scale, in a free-form rhthym led by a soloist and answered with the chorus. It accompanies the action when [I'm not 100% sure, but 90% certain] Ravana kidnaps Sita, and Rama is all sad like...

"Sek Syuk Syor....Aung Syar
Si Gelo Syar, Si Gelo Syar
Ai....Ao e Ya o Sor

Aung Syar...Aung Ngar...Ya Ngar
Ngor Yangur Ya Es Syer, Ngor Yangur Ya Es Syer
Jang Jang Kija Janger, Jang Jang Kija Janger
Ya Ngar Kija Jang Sir

Ya Ngor Ya Ngar, Ya Ngor Ya Ngar
Ya NgorYanger Ya Sir, Ya NgorYanger Ya Sir
Ya Ngor Yangar, Yangor, Yangir
Ya Ngor Yangar, Yangor, Yangir
Yangor, Yangar, Yanger, Ya Sir,

Yangor Yangar Yanger Yangir
Yangor Yangar, Yangor Yangar, Yangor Yangar,
Yangur Yangar, Yangor Yangir, Yangur Yangar, Yangor Yangir,
Yangor Yangar Yanger Ya Sir"

The words don't literally translate, they merely hold vowels that carry the note (and, according to some linguists, the 'emotion'). It is sung in unison, the power and energy of the song coming from the one sound, broken up with passages of Kecak chanting in syncopation and rhthmic playfulness. I challenge any beat boxer/freestyler to catch the Kecak's flow- notes fall within semiquavers of each other, it requires an accute ear for other parts and an ability to hit the 'on' and the 'off'in the same pattern.

Yesterday, I got to play with a couple of Nyoman's primeminister masks. This one is a finished one (note the jewelled headpiece)...


And this is the one he will finish for me(it fits nicely around the chin)...


And here is mine, I'm starting to shape itto my face...


Almost finished sanding, she's about ready for paint...


I'm glad I have a wild mass of hair, as they often wear hair pieces/wigs here to cover the sharp difference between the mask and the human face. Ideally, the more flush you can get the mask, the better the fit (as well as the eyes/nose/mouth ratio).

ll start my second mask this afternoon. What will it be? Watch this space.