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Primal party
By JOHN DARLING
Monkey chant made its debut in Ashland last night as 40 people gathered at Pioneer Hall to sway in unison and bark out the hypnotic, stacatto gibberish lyrics that go something like, "Ke-chack-a-chack-a-chack-chack-a."
Monkey chant is the common name for a thing called, Ke-chak, according to Ke-chak master Grady Cousins of the One People Voice Co. It's pure fun and, "kind of a calisthenic workout of lungs, mind and body," said Cousins, in from the Bay Area to help half a dozen Ke-chack aficionados get the tradition launched here, after they got hooked on it at the Burning Man Festival. So what is it? "It's trance music," said Cousins. "It's very complex and multi-layered and is used in ritualistic and healing ways or simply for fun. It builds chi (life energy) in the body and gives the mind a workout, like a Rubik's Cube." Sometimes rolling and lilting, then suddenly explosive and primal, Ke-chak has the ability, Cousins said, to lift and expand the sense of individual passion and creativity while at the same time opening the individual to the larger community. "I loved it. I felt so close to everyone," said college student Amy Reardon. "I'm usually conservative and skeptical, but the energy was so welcoming that we weren't afraid to come together." Leading chant from the center of a tightly packed circle, Cousins had each quarter chanting a different, but vigorously syncopating sound. He even had members shift into glossolalia -- speaking-in-tongues, with words that had no meaning, yet seemed to have meaning. "It's a great way to let loose and express yourself in pure sounds, rather than the words, thoughts and meanings of everyday life," said media salesperson Reine McIntyre. Ke-chak sounds ancient and tribal but apparently was created in Bali in the 1930s to entertain Western tourists. It serves no religion or philosophy, although it's been used to tell the Ramayana story of how Rama, helped by a white monkey army, recaptured his wife after she was kidnapped by the evil King Rahwana. "Here, it's a way for people to come together and build community with a shared voice, to help you not be so serious and let your spirit come out," said Angie Meeker. "The locked voices become empowered and create community," said Cole Meeker. They helped organize the event. Organizers Chandler Beattie and Jessica Vineyard, owners of The Phoenix, an Ashland Health Spa, said, with practice, the group grows more "perfectly syncopated" and on track with each other's rhythm. "You focus and unfocus alternately - focusing to learn it, then unfocusing to let everyone in," said Vineyard. "It becomes very intimate - a great way to connect with people you've never met."
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