Hysteria in Tanzanian Schools

6 February 2010

The Following article from BBC news presents a common problem that we are faced with in Tanzanian schools.

In this case a group of primary school girls were under pressure sitting for an exam and a state of mass hysteria erupted. . It seems to actually be a case of hysteria with “crying and running” but is also common for Tanzanian girls to be afflicted with symptoms of what is locally understood to be Jinamizi (spirit possession).

In this state the girls go into a type of fit with a rigid body, severe trembling and the eyes rolled back.

Usually one girl becomes affected and it becomes contagious. This article refers to fainting but in our experience fainting is not common but Jinamizi is. Jinamizi can induce terror in the African mind. It is indeed very terrible to witness. My reading of this article leads me to assume that one girl had a jinamizi attack which could be described as fainting and the other girls became hysterical. This is what usually occurs.

It is widely beloeved that, in general, Tanzanian girls are not encouraged to attend school but in all our schools there are more girls than boys. Girls are encouraged to educate themselves but the reason usually given for this is so they can get a well paying job and bring an income to the family. It is not education for educations’ sake and there is a lot of pressure on them.

When dealing with a school and its students we are also dealing with a community and its problems.  It is natural for us to be concerned with phenomena like this; particularly if it concerns the education of the child or the atmosphere of the school.

Why does this phenomenon occur?  It looks very much like the release of pent up emotions or repressed feelings. The Tanzanian personality gives the impression of being light hearted and joyful but that is because it is not socially acceptable to be otherwise.

In males when the breaking point is reached there can be extreme violence. We recently had a teacher who was hospitalized for 5 days after being beaten by her husband on a mistaken assumption. Women here expect to be beaten by their husbands as a normal part of family life. A thief caught in a village can expect to be killed with no recriminations from the police. Often the death can be slow torture by all the men in the village taking many hours as occurred outside the front gate of one of our staff.

Women can present a powerful negative psychic force that can disorient the minds of anyone present but they are rarely physically violent.

Crying is socially unacceptable. It is unthinkable that a young girl would express anger to anyone older, even younger, than herself. The repressed anxiety has to be released somehow. The acceptable method is hysteria or Jinamizi. A girl who releases emotion in this way is not punished. Often she is feared.

The human heart is delicate and easily hurt in countless ways. The pain has to be dealt with somehow. It can be released with tears, anger, hysteria, Jinamizi or it can be stoically borne. For young girls tears would be the best but failing that hysteria or Jinamizi is an acceptable alternative. There is no physical harm to themselves or others.  It is when pain is released with anger and physical or emotional violence that the real problems occur.

The solution is to prevent the tension and hurt in the first place. To always act towards our fellow man and the earth with kindness. To do no wrong. To create around ourselves a sustainable and abundant environment. To not force ourselves or others into positions of stress.

But we are human and we have a long way to go before we have created a perfect world. Untill that time it is up to us as individuals to do our best.

Here we say that education is the solution to all the problems of Africa… But last week I held a young hysterical primary school girl in my arms who was being neglected by all around her. I let her misery melt away. The spasms became sobs and the sobs became a smile… Then I felt the solution to everything is love.

Love is the solution to all the problems of the world.

From BBC News 11 September 2008

Fainting fits in schools are common in Tanzania

Junior school pupils in Tanzania experienced a mass fainting fit while taking their final year exams, an educational official has told the BBC.

The 20 girls at Ali Hassan Mwinyi School in Tabora started fainting after finishing their first paper.

“I’m not a specialist but I imagine this was a case of mass hysteria that does happen in some of the schools,” Midemo Paul Makungu said.

He said it only affected the girls, some of whom took 40 minutes to revive.

“There was chaos, crying, screaming, running after that first paper,” Mr Makungu, Tabora’s educational officer, told the BBC News website.

More than 140 Standard Seven pupils were taking the national exam at the school in the north of the country.

He said special arrangements were made so that those who had fainted could finish the other two papers they had that day.

“They eventually finished at 11pm,” he said.

It is not the first such incident at the school – over the last month there have been several mass fainting fits amongst the girl pupils.

“Normally this happens in girls’ secondary schools. It is very common here,” Mr Makungu said.