BrockVanhoose67: expanded intro for accuracy further and fixed typos

2025-12-05T16:26:27Z

expanded intro for accuracy further and fixed typos

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article

2023-08-31T13:09:17Z

Created a new article

New page

{{Short description|Type of pedestrian bridge made with live trees}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox bridge
| name =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image = Image:Living root bridges, Nongriat village, Meghalaya2.jpg
| image_upright =
| alt = Double living root bridge in East Khasi Hills
| caption = Double living root bridge in East Khasi Hills (2011)
| carries =
| crosses = Creeks
| locale =
| other_name =
| named_for =
| heritage =
| website =
| design =
| material = Living trees roots tapu and sonu
| material1 = Rocks
| length = examples over {{convert|50|m}}
| width = examples over {{convert|1.5|m|ft|sigfig=1}}
| height =
| depth =
| life = up to 500 years
| num_track =
| architect = Meghalayans
| traffic =
| map_type =
| map_relief =
| map_dot_label =
| map_image =
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
}}

[[File:10 Shnongpdei 1.JPG|thumb|Local Khasis using the young, pliable aerial roots of a fig tree to create a new railing for a bridge near the village of Kongthong]]

A '''living root bridge''' is a type of [[simple suspension bridge]] formed of living [[plant roots]] by [[tree shaping]]. They are common in the North-Eastern part of the [[India]]n state of [[Meghalaya]]. They are handmade from the [[aerial root]]s of rubber fig trees (''[[Ficus elastica]]''<ref name=Readers>{{Citation|first=Brent |last=Lewin |date=November 2012 |title=India's living Bridges |pages=82–89 |work=Reader's Digest Australia |url=http://www.readersdigest.com.au/indias-living-bridges |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116032702/http://www.readersdigest.com.au/indias-living-bridges |url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-11-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.india9.com/i9show/Living-Root-Bridge-48779.htm |title=Living Root Bridge in Laitkynsew India |publisher=www.india9.com |access-date=2010-02-22 }}</ref>) by the [[Khasi people|Khasi]] and [[Pnar people|Jaiñtia]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = evenfewergoats: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 1: Bridges of The Umngot River Basin|url = http://evenfewergoats.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-undiscovered-living-root-bridges-of.html|website = evenfewergoats|date = 2015-09-02|access-date = 2015-10-04|first = Patrick A.|last = Rogers}}</ref> peoples of the mountainous terrain along the southern part of the [[Shillong Plateau]]. Most of the bridges grow on steep slopes of subtropical moist broadleaf forest between {{convert|50|and|1150|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref>Ludwig, Ferdinand & Middleton, Wilfrid & Gallenmüller, Friederike & Rogers, Patrick & Speck, Thomas. (2019). Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective. Scientific Reports. 9. 10.1038/s41598-019-48652-w.</ref>

As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the roots in the bridge can naturally grow thick and strengthen. New roots can grow throughout the tree's life and must be pruned or manipulated to strengthen the bridge. Once mature, some bridges can have as many as 50 or more people crossing, and have a lifespan of several hundred years.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Ludwig |first1=Ferdinand |last2=Middleton |first2=Wilfrid |last3=Gallenmüller |first3=Friederike |last4=Rogers |first4=Patrick |last5=Speck |first5=Thomas |date=2019-08-22 |title=Living bridges using aerial roots of ficus elastica – an interdisciplinary perspective |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=12226 |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-48652-w |pmid=31439904 |issn=2045-2322|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Biotecture>{{Cite book|last1=Chithra|first1=K.|title=Implementing Campus Greening Initiatives|last2=Krishnan|first2=K. Amritha|publisher=Springer International Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-3-319-11960-1|location=Switzerland|pages=113–124}}</ref> Without active care, many bridges have decayed or grown wild, becoming unusable.<ref>Middleton, Wilfrid & Habibi, Amin & Shankar, Sanjeev & Ludwig, Ferdinand. (2020). Characterizing Regenerative Aspects of Living Root Bridges. Sustainability. 12. 10.3390/su12083267.</ref> Written documentation of living root bridges was sparse until the 2010s, but in 2017, researchers geo-located a total of 75 living root bridges.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Middleton |first1=Wilfrid |last2=Habibi |first2=Amin |last3=Shankar |first3=Sanjeev |last4=Ludwig |first4=Ferdinand |date=2020-04-17 |title=Characterizing Regenerative Aspects of Living Root Bridges |journal=Sustainability |volume=12 |issue=8 |pages=3267 |doi=10.3390/su12083267 |issn=2071-1050|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Living root bridges have also been created in the Indian state of Nagaland,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://guyshachar.com/en/2016/living-root-bridges-nagaland-india-mon-myahnyu/|title=Living Root Bridges of Nagaland India – Nyahnyu Village Mon District {{!}} Guy Shachar|website=guyshachar.com|language=en|access-date=2017-09-07}}</ref> in [[Indonesia]] at [[Jembatan akar]] on the island of [[Sumatra]], and in the [[Banten]] province of [[Java]], by the [[Baduy people]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://py6unova.livejournal.com/1769.html|title=Baduy Tribe|last=py6unova|date=2015-12-13|website=Ruby Mangunsong|access-date=2017-09-07}}</ref><ref name=atlasobscura>{{Citation|first = Eric |last= Grundhauser |title=WEST SUMATRA, INDONESIA Jembatan Akar |url = https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jembatan-akar
| publisher = Atlasobscura}}</ref>

==History==
The [[Khasi people]] do not know when or how the tradition of living root bridges started. In Khasi mythology, their ancestors descended from a living roots ladder that connected heaven and earth, ''jingkieng ksiar.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Julia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1130119634 |title=Lo-TEK : design by radical indigenism |date=2020 |others=Wade Davis |isbn=978-3-8365-7818-9 |location=Cologne |pages=50 |oclc=1130119634 |author-link=Julia Watson (landscape designer)}}</ref> Historically, the earliest written record of Sohra's (Cherrapunji's) living root bridges is by [[Henry Yule]], who expressed astonishment about them in the 1844 ''Journal of [[Asiatic Society of Bengal|the Asiatic Society of Bengal]]''.<ref name="Readers" />

== Methods of creation ==

A living root bridge is formed by guiding the pliable roots of the [[Ficus elastica|rubber fig]] tree across a stream or river, and then allowing the roots to grow and strengthen over time until they can hold the weight of a human being. The young roots are sometimes tied or twisted together, and are often encouraged to combine via the process of [[inosculation]]. As the rubber fig tree is well suited to anchoring itself to steep slopes and rocky surfaces, it is not difficult to encourage its roots to take hold on the opposite sides of river banks.<ref name="Cherrapunjee"/><ref name="Laitkynsew"/>

As they are made from living, growing organisms, the useful lifespan of any given living root bridge is variable. It is thought that, under ideal conditions, a root bridge can last for many hundreds of years. As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the bridge will naturally self-renew and self-strengthen as its component roots grow thicker.<ref name="Cherrapunjee">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cherrapunjee.com/index.php?mid=66&pid=66|title=Cherrapunjee.com: A Dream Place|publisher=Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort|access-date=2010-05-07}}</ref><ref name="Laitkynsew">{{Cite web|url=http://www.india9.com/i9show/Living-Root-Bridge-48779.htm|title=Living Root Bridge|date=2005-10-21|publisher=Online Highways LLC|access-date=2010-05-07}}</ref>

A root bridge can be made in several ways:

=== By hand ===
[[File:Root bridge, Burma village.jpg|thumb|A root bridge in Burma Village, East Khasi Hills, being developed without the aid of a scaffold (2016)]]

Some living root bridges are created entirely by manipulating the roots of the rubber fig tree by hand, and without the aid of a scaffolding or any other natural or human-made materials.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://livingrootbridges.com/methods-of-creating-living-root-bridges/|title=How are Living Root Bridges Made?|date=2017-05-05|work=The Living Root Bridge Project|access-date=2017-09-04|language=en-US}}</ref>

Often, locals using root bridges will make small alterations to them, manipulating young roots as the opportunity presents itself. Because of this, one can say that the development of a living root bridge is very much a social endeavor and that the structures are perpetual works in progress.

=== Wood or bamboo scaffold ===
[[File:Rangthylliang new bridge.jpg|left|thumb|A root bridge being grown using a wood and bamboo scaffold. Rangthylliang, East Khasi Hills (2016)]]

Root bridges are also commonly formed by training young rubber fig roots over scaffolds made from wood or bamboo, materials which are abundant in Northeast India. In these instances, the roots are wrapped around the outside of the perishable material. The scaffolds may be replaced many times over the years as the root bridge becomes stronger.<ref name=":3" />

=== Areca Palm trunks ===
[[File:Double Decker Areca Trunk method.jpg|thumb|A living root bridge is being developed with rubber fig strands being guided along a halved areca palm trunk (2016)]]

Some living root bridges are grown by training young rubber fig roots through the hollowed-out trunks of [[Areca catechu|areca nut palms]]. The pliable tree roots are made to grow through [[betel tree]] trunks<ref name="BBC13A">{{cite web|last1=Vallangi|first1=Neelima|title=Indias amazing living root bridges|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150218-indias-amazing-living-root-bridges?ocid=fbtvl|publisher=BBC|access-date=27 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=Biotecture/> which have been placed across rivers and streams until the figs' roots attach themselves to the other side. The trunks serve to guide the roots,<ref name="Living Architecture"/> to protect them, and provide them with nutrients as they decay.<ref name=":3" /> Sticks, stones, and other objects are used to stabilize the growing bridge.<ref name="Readers" /> This process can take up to 15 years to complete.<ref>{{cite news | last=Baker | first=Russ | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/re-envisioning-our-environment-2011-10 | title=Re-Envisioning Our Environment | newspaper=Business Insider | date=6 October 2011 | access-date=24 July 2018 }}</ref>

=== Conventional structures ===
[[File:Hybrid root-steel bridge. .jpg|thumb|Rubber fig roots have been trained across a pre-existing steel bridge, in the hope that eventually, as the steel elements fail, the roots will form into a usable living root bridge (2016)]]

Root bridges can also be trained by guiding the young roots of rubber fig trees across conventional structures, such as already existing steel wire suspension bridges.<ref name=":3" /> As the structure being used as a scaffold is already functional, the problem of the length of time it takes for a root bridge to become functional is here essentially bypassed; the conventional structure can be used until the more sustainable root bridge is sufficiently strong.<ref name=":3" />

== Distribution ==
{{see also | List of districts of Meghalaya }}
[[File:1 Rangthylliang 1.JPG|thumb|[[Rangthylliang 1 root bridge]], over {{convert|50|m}} in length, is the longest known example]]

=== West Jaintia and East Khasi districts ===

Living root bridges are known to occur in the [[West Jaintia Hills district]] and [[East Khasi Hills district]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = evenfewergoats: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 2: Bridges Near Pynursla|url = http://evenfewergoats.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-undiscovered-living-root-bridges-of_14.html|website = evenfewergoats|date = 2015-09-14|access-date = 2015-10-04|first = Patrick A.|last = Rogers}}</ref> In the Jaintia Hills, examples of living root bridges can be found in and around the villages of Shnongpdeng, Nongbareh, [[Khonglah]], Padu, Kudeng Thymmai, Siej and Kudeng Rim.<ref name=":0" /> In the East Khasi Hills, living root bridges nearby [[Cherrapunji]] are known to exist in and around the villages of Tynrong,<ref>{{Cite web|title = evenfewergoats: An Unknown Living Root Bridge|url = http://evenfewergoats.blogspot.com/2014/01/an-unknown-living-root-bridge.html|website = evenfewergoats|date = 2014-01-26|access-date = 2015-10-04|first = Patrick A.|last = Rogers}}</ref> Mynteng, [[Nongriat]], [[Nongthymmai]], and [[Laitkynsew]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cherrapunjee|url = http://www.cherrapunjee.com/|website = Cherrapunjee|access-date = 2015-10-04|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100704080658/http://www.cherrapunjee.com/|archive-date = 4 July 2010|url-status = dead}}</ref>

East of Cherrapunji, examples of living root bridges are known to exist in the Khatarshnong region, in and around the villages of Nongpriang, Sohkynduh, [[Kongthong]], Rymmai, and Mawshuit.<ref name=m3>{{Cite web|title = evenfewergoats: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 3: Bridges of the 12 Villages|url = http://evenfewergoats.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-undiscovered-living-root-bridges-of_24.html|website = evenfewergoats|date = 2015-09-24|access-date = 2015-10-04|first = Patrick A.|last = Rogers}}</ref> Many more can be found near Pynursla<ref name=":1" /> and [[Mawlynnong]].

=== Notable root bridges ===
[[File:27 Padu 3.JPG|thumb|The double-decker two-lane living root bridge of Padu Village (2015)<ref>{{Cite web|title = evenfewergoats: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 1: Bridges of The Umngot River Basin|url = http://evenfewergoats.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-undiscovered-living-root-bridges-of.html|website = evenfewergoats|date = 2015-09-02|access-date = 2015-10-08|first = Patrick A.|last = Rogers}}</ref>]]

At over {{convert|50|m}} in length, the longest known example of a living root bridge<ref name=":1" /> is near the small Khasi town of Pynursla in [[India]], which can be accessed from either the village of Mawkyrnot or Rangthylliang. This bridge is known as [[Rangthylliang 1 Root Bridge|Rangthylliang bridge]].<ref name="Living Architecture">{{Cite journal |author= Thomas Vallas |others=peer reviewer Luc Courard |title=Using nature in architecture Building a living house with mycelium and trees |url=http://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/frontiers-of-architectural-research/|journal=Frontiers of Architectural Research |date=25 May 2017 }}</ref>

There are several examples of double living-root bridges, the most famous being the "Double Decker" root bridge of Nongriat which is estimated to be 200 years old.<ref name=":4" /> There are three known examples of double-decker bridges with two parallel or nearly parallel spans. Two are in the West Jaintia Hills near the villages of Padu and Nongbareh,<ref name=":0" /> and one is in Burma Village, in the East Khasi Hills.<ref name=":0" /> There is also a "Double Decker" (or possibly even "Triple Decker") near the village of Rangthylliang, close to Pynursla.<ref name=":1" />

=== Other root structures ===
The [[Khasi people|Khasi]] and [[Pnar people|Jaiñtia]] also make several other kinds of structures out of the aerial roots of rubber trees. These include ladders and platforms.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title = evenfewergoats: The Undiscovered Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya Part 4: Living Root Ladders and other uses for living root architecture|url = http://evenfewergoats.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-undiscovered-living-root-bridges-of.html|website = evenfewergoats|date = 2015-10-01|access-date = 2015-10-04|first = Patrick A.|last = Rogers}}</ref> For example, in the village of Kudeng Rim in the West Jaintia Hills, a rubber tree next to a football field has been modified so that its branches can serve as living root [[bleacher]]s. Aerial roots of the tree have been interwoven in the spaces between several branches so that platforms have been created from which villagers can watch football games.<ref name=":2" />
{{clear}}

==See also==

* [[Baubotanik]]: Building with both technical joints and plant growth.
* [[Espalier]]: Old practice of training fruit trees into flat two-dimensional forms
* [[Fab Tree Hab]]: hypothetical home of shaped trees
* [[List of longest bridges above water in India]]
* [[Pleaching]]: Way of creating a hedge with plants for stock control
* [[Topiary]]: The clipping of foliage of perennial plants into clearly defined shapes

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150510024812/http://www.sweetsixteencafe.com/living-natural-root-bridges-meghalaya.html/ "The Living Natural Root Bridgew in Meghalaya"]
* [http://www.unbelievable-facts.com/2013/04/natures-marvel-living-root-bridges-of.html "Nature's Marvel: Living Root bridges of Cherrapunji"] unbelievable-facts.com
* [http://humanplanet.com/timothyallen/2011/03/living-root-bridges-bbc-human-planet/ "Living Root Bridges"] also living fig ladders as well as bridges
* [http://inhabitat.com/tag/living-root-bridges-of-cherrapunji/ "Living Root Bridges of Cherrapunji"] at inhabitat.com
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151117063712/http://www.blotub.com/living-root-bridges/ "Living Root Bridges at Cherrapunji In Megahalya"] at blotub.com
* [https://www.familyonthewheels.com/the-living-root-bridge-of-meghalaya/ " Magic of turning roots into bridges " ] at familyonthewheels.com
* https://livingrootbridges.com/
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04xr8nv Video clip] depicting the training of roots, by the bamboo scaffold method, in an existing root bridge dating to 1840 in the village of [[Nohwet]] in [[East Khasi Hills District]], [[Meghalaya]], [[India]]. From the [[BBC]]'s ''[[The Travel Show (TV series)|The Travel Show]]'' 2017 episode [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3ct18zf "India: Episode Two"].

{{Tourism in India}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Transport in Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Bridges in India]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Trees]]

Living root bridge - Revision history

BrockVanhoose67: expanded intro for accuracy further and fixed typos

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article