Tari ketjak

the ketjak dance is a religious ceremony performed—sometimes for several hours on successive nights, for three to four months—to exorcise evil during times of peril and pestilence. The gamelan orchestra that accompanies most Balinese dance performances is generally absent during a ketjak performance, replaced by the sounds from a male chorus similar to the rhythms of the gamelan. While audiences and photography are not welcome during religious performances of ketjak, recently the "tourist ketjak" has emerged—an abbreviated version of the dance, performed for entertainment.

tari ketjak Bali, photograph: M.L