KALAK RHYTHM 

The Kalak rhythm is the one rhythm everyone knows. It is the rhythm that everyone is taught when they are young.  It’s a call. A call to play together on special occasions. Not to be invoked too often or in petty situations. The rhythm has many parts to it. Depending on what you hear being played, one can play the counterpart or the part that they hear being played. There are infinite ways to play the rhythm. Each community has their own version of it, like a dialect of the same language. 

Because it is a circular rhythm, it  doesn’t always begin at the same place. There is no beginning and no end. It can be played clockwise or counterclockwise. Each layer or concentric circle moves independently of the others, and this way there are infinite permutations possible. Different regions and people interpret the rhythm differently and it takes on very different and distinct forms across the world. 

The rhythm is not exact or precise. It is imperfect and needs constant balancing. It charges forward aggressively or drifts along meditatively depending on the mood of the person and/or group playing it. Thus if ever written down, it is always done so by hand, imprecisely and is  more a work of art than a prescriptive guide providing information on how to play. One relies on the way you’ve learnt it by ear. The written rhythm is symbolic. 

The kalak symbol represents an abstract and complex idea that is realised when expanded upon in real time, that is,  when played. The symbol contains many layers of information and ideas that the written word cannot communicate effectively.   

The rhythm is not performed for an audience. It is played by the community in rituals for healing, solidarity and occasions  involving the connection between the three worlds. The past, present, future. Underground, ground, sky. Ancestors, us, descendants. Creator, preserver, destroyer. Trilogies exist everywhere. They are recognised a lot. The Kalak rhythm connects all 3 worlds.