kecak

noun

ke·​cak ˈke-ˌchäk 

variants or less commonly ketjak

: a Balinese dance and rhythmic chant depicting the battle from the Hindu epic Ramayana in which the god Rama fights the demonic King Ravana with the help of the monkey god Hanuman

The kecak became a performance by men playing the part of an army of monkeys that helps Prince Rama rescue Princess Sita …

—J. S. Eades, translation of Shinji Yamashita, Bali and Beyond, 2003

called also Ramayana monkey chant

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1937, in the meaning defined above

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