monkey see, monkey do serves as a personal blog and creative outlet for
monkey chants
at the burn this year, i finally was able to join the monkey chanting folks both for a lesson in this form of balinese chanting and then in center camp for a performance. the chant was depicted in the 1992 film baraka, here’s a clip from it.
i’m speculating, but the base line is a mantra that to me sounds like “Bo dhi si dhi” which in sanskrit might be bodhi (awake / enlightenment / seeing things as they are) and siddhi (power or realization). the chant is supposed to depict a hindu battle between rama and demons, in which monkeys rallied to rama’s aid. not sure if my mantra interpretation is correct though.
doing this chant felt like a shamanic purification ritual, the chanting caused me to move my shoulders and chest a lot, releasing tension and causing a trance like state. i can see how this would be valuable for overcoming all kinds of emotional and group obstacles, both by creating a sense of group accomplishment but also by getting the emotional juices moving and unstuck.
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13. September 2007 at 7:24 am :
Did you do the monkey parts too or just the mantra? It seems so energetic - hard to think it’d cause a trance like state. Very cool. Wish I’d seen that on the playa.
13. September 2007 at 11:18 am :
yes, we did some of the monkey parts too though not as many as this video. watch the guy leading the chant, doesn’t he look like he’s in a trance? i saw this chant in years past in center camp and always wanted to see what it was about.