Atumalaca / Acumalaka

Submission 24,555

About

Atumalaca, also known as Acumalaka, refers to a laughing sound with a high pitch that has been used as a ringtone. Years later, it was popularized after people began using it as a laughing or screaming sound effect in various videos, both ironic and unironic.

Origin

The origin of the audio is unknown, although there was a claim that the audio first appeared on Greek radio around 2003 and 2004^[9]. However, the earliest footage of the audio was found on December 18th, 2008. YouTube^[1] user Ozonion uploaded a ringtone advertisement titled "Risada do Peludão". In the video, a blue-furred creature laughs with a high pitched voice and seems to say the word "Atumalaca" several times. The video received more than 380,000 views in 14 years. On February 20th, 2009, YouTube^[2] user alfo399 uploaded a clearer version of the video without the advertisement. It received more than 1.1 million views in 13 years (shown below).

Spread

The ringtone increased in popularity in the following years as a laughing sound effect, most often used with images or videos of monkeys and babies. For example, on November 4th, 2015, YouTube^[3] user Cornelis Dehotman uploaded an image of a baby laughing alongside the sound effect. It received more than 350,000 views in 7 years (shown below, left). On March 25th, 2016, YouTube^[4] user Rosyid CPP Bandung uploaded video of a monkey laughing. It received more than 1.3 million views in 6 years (shown below, right).

On May 18th, 2020, TikTok^[5] user @mar_byz uploaded a video of a woman replacing a bag of money with a box of tissues. The video received more than 4.7 million views in two years (shown below, left). On July 6th, 2022, TikTok^[6] user @mateuzin_104 uploaded video of a cat meowing using the sound. The video received more than 8.2 million views in three months (shown below, right).

Starting in early 2022, the sound effect has also been used in various videos on Facebook by editing the original laughing or screaming sound. For example on February 16th, 2022, Facebook^[7] user Aizakku Barrientos uploaded a clip of screaming Venom to the "21st Century Humor" group. The video received more than 1,500 reactions and 1,000 shares (shown below, left). On April 1st, 2022, Facebook^[8] user John Benedict Ramos-Naig uploaded a video that they claimed to be the origin of the sound effect to the "You Laugh, You Lose" group. The video received more than 2,400 reactions and 2,700 shares in five months (shown below, right).