ED POST
Ünë Épidémie De Rire
This is an illustrated story book about
"Épidémie de fou rire du Tanganyika",
Narrated by real events to draw,
Ünë Épidémie De Rire curated by art director Wang Ling
Book reading at ART'M Créateurs associés
When drawing this illustration book to the end, I suddenly felt.
People who experienced this event,
When they laugh again or hear laughter, How would they feel?
"Laugh, still laugh?"
To Alexandre,
who knew how to make people laugh and think while telling this story hundreds of times.
In the 1960s, In Tanganyika,
the largest epidemic of laughter ever occurred.
Today Tanganyika is called Tanzania. At the time, this country is just to gain independence.
The life of the population is turned upside down,
the power of the tribes is replaced by a central government, traditional religions are prohibited and churches " Modern" are built in the villages.
In 1962, In a Catholic boarding school for young girls, located in the village of Kashasha, a seemingly mundane event takes place.
A group of students giggles.
But contrary to habits and despite threats from teachers, the young girls don't stop laughing.
Then it's the students neighboring classes who are starting to laugh too.
Soon, 95 students from the boarding school laugh without being able to stop!
The students are seized with fits of laughter that last a few minutes a few hours.
The laughter is interspersed with moments calmer.
All this commotion is preventing the resumption of classes!
To put an end to the laughters, the boarding school is closing its doors and the students are sent home.
But this decision does not have the desired effect.
The epidemic is spreading among the families of students!
In the towns of origin of residents, 217 people were affected, among them we find young adults and schoolchildren.
It can take hours, even days.
Between the moment a person crosses path with a "patient" and when she shows the first sign of contagion.
Those affected have, in most cases, 4 episodes of laughter in a week, before the symptoms disappear.
The laughter of epidemic is strange laughter, sometimes disturbing.
Laughter alternates with crying and many people sufferers feel fear.
Some even have the impression that something, or someone is chasing them.
The laughter of epidemic is strange laughter, sometimes disturbing.
Laughter alternates with crying and many people sufferers feel fear.
Some even have the impression that something, or someone is chasing them.
Despite the closure of several schools, the epidemic of laughter still growing.
More than 1,000 people are affected.
Some cases are even observed in Uganda, the neighboring country.
Entire villages are quarantined, and clam returns gradually in the country and in the village of Kashasha.
At the time, this phenomenon was observed by Drs Rankin and Philip, 2 doctors on site.
They had initially considered poisoning or disease, but finding no clue, the end up by excluding these assumptions.
The explanations of this phenomenon are still unknown.
Rankin and Philip observe a singular detail: everyone does not seem to be affected by this epidemic.
The people presenting symptoms are mostly female.
No village chief, police officer or teacher was affected.
No member of "upper" society was affected.
Thus, more than 50 years after its onset, the epidemic of laughter of Kashasha still remains an enigma for science.
