{"id":2090,"date":"2026-05-20T17:39:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/20\/greetings-from-bali-where-a-kecak-dance-shows-the-triumph-of-good-over-evil\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:39:38","slug":"greetings-from-bali-where-a-kecak-dance-shows-the-triumph-of-good-over-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=2090","title":{"rendered":"Greetings from Bali, where a kecak dance shows the triumph of good over evil"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"storytitle\">\n<h1>Greetings from Bali, where a kecak dance shows the triumph of good over evil<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORYTITLE\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"story-meta\" class=\"story-meta has-byline\">\n<div class=\"story-meta__one\">\n<div class=\"story-meta__one-inner\">\n<div class=\"dateblock\">\n    <time datetime=\"2026-05-20T12:55:21-04:00\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"date\">May 20, 2026<\/span><span class=\"time\">12:55 PM ET<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/time>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__ONE-INNER\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__ONE\" --><\/p>\n<div class=\"story-meta__two\">\n<div id=\"storybyline\" class=\"storybyline-wrap linkLocation\">\n<div class=\"bucketwrap byline\">\n<div class=\"byline-container--block\">\n<div class=\"byline byline--block byline--has-link\" aria-label=\"Byline\">\n<div class=\"byline__photo\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/people\/705255512\/emily-feng\" rel=\"author\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/687x687+0+116\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F78%2F56%2F12933ab24ea9b66e4cf40903b586%2Femily-feng.JPG\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Headshot of Emily Feng\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/687x687+0+116\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F78%2F56%2F12933ab24ea9b66e4cf40903b586%2Femily-feng.JPG\" data-format=\"jpeg\"><br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<p class=\"byline__name byline__name--block\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/people\/705255512\/emily-feng\" rel=\"author\"><br \/>\n      Emily Feng<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP BYLINE\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__TWO\" -->\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"STORY-META\" CLASS=\"STORY-META HAS-BYLINE\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\" class=\"storytext storylocation linkLocation\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-122603-100\" class=\"bucketwrap statichtml\">\n<p data-pym-loader data-child-src=\"https:\/\/apps.npr.org\/dailygraphics\/graphics\/postcards-20260112\/bali.html\" id=\"responsive-embed-postcards-20260112-bali\"> Loading&#8230; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-122603-100\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP STATICHTML\" --><\/p>\n<p><em>Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR&#8217;s international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The kecak dance is a 20th century adaptation of the trance-inducing Hindu ceremonies performed in Bali and a retelling of one of the stories in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Ramayana-Indian-epic\" target=\"_blank\">Ramayana<\/a>, the Hindu epic poem. It uses no instruments; instead, about three dozen men chant in syncopated rhythm, the rise and fall of their intertwining voices creating the soundscape for the drama.<\/p>\n<p>At the story&#8217;s climax, there is a sudden eruption of fire as the chanters light up tufts of dried coconut husks. The orderliness of their rhythms disappears. The chanters scatter and daringly kick and play with the flaming husks while the audience (including me) tries not to panic.<\/p>\n<p>But the chaos soon dissipates, as does most of the fire. The chanters settle back into rows, avoiding the dying embers. The a cappella rhythm picks up again. And the story itself also neatly resolves, with the forces of good triumphing over the forces of evil.<\/p>\n<p>I left this beautiful performance feeling soothed, having been transported, albeit briefly, by the human voice into a fictional world \u2014 one in which good always prevails and magic can save the day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See more Far-Flung Postcards from around the world:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"edTag edTag edTag edTag edTag edTag edTag edTag rte2-style-ul\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/05\/13\/g-s1-121409\/seville-spain-snails-caracoles\" target=\"_blank\">Greetings from Seville, where springtime means caracoles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/05\/06\/g-s1-119852\/indonesia-mangrove-conservation-fishing-sulawesi-bajau\" target=\"_blank\">Greetings from a sea village in Indonesia, where Indigenous fishing gets help from mangroves<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/29\/g-s1-118663\/syria-olive-harvest-homs\" target=\"_blank\">Greetings from Syria, where a postwar olive harvest offers a long-lost taste of home<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/22\/g-s1-117423\/pakistan-islamabad-park\" target=\"_blank\">Greetings from an Islamabad park, a peaceful vantage point in an uncertain world<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"tag tag--story\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/533552249\/bali\">Bali<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"tag tag--story\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/136141905\/indonesia\">Indonesia<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"TAGS\" --><\/p>\n<div class=\"share-tools share-tools--secondary\" aria-label=\"Share tools\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--facebook\"><button class=\"fbStoryg-s1-122603\" data-share-facebook='{\"storyId\": \"g-s1-122603\" }' data-metrics-ga4='{\"category\":\"share\",\"action\":\"share\",\"clickName\":\"facebook\"}'><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Facebook<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--flipboard\"><button class=\"storyg-s1-122603\" data-share-flipboard='{\"storyId\": \"g-s1-122603\" }' data-metrics-ga4='{\"category\":\"share\",\"action\":\"share\",\"clickName\":\"flipboard\"}'><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Flipboard<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--email\"><button class=\"share-tools__email-link\" data-story-id=\"g-s1-122603\" data-metrics-ga4='{\"category\":\"share\",\"action\":\"share\",\"clickName\":\"email\"}'><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Email<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"SHARE-TOOLS SHARE-TOOLS-SECONDARY\" ARIA-LABEL=\"SHARE TOOLS\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"NEWSLETTER-ACQUISITION-CALLOUT-DATA\" DATA-NEWSLETTER=\"{&amp;QUOT;NEWSLETTERID&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;NEWS&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;TITLE&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;UP FIRST&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;MARKETINGHEADER&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;SIGN UP FOR NPR&#039;S UP FIRST NEWSLETTER&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;FREQUENCY&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;EVERY DAY&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;SHORTDESCRIPTION&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;THE STORIES YOU NEED TO START YOUR DAY, HAND-PICKED FOR YOU EVERY WEEKDAY. 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