Beauty Branching Out: The Living Bridges of Meghalaya
Humans have built a lot of breath-taking things. Temples, pyramids and skyscrapers, etc. Many of them are pretty famous now. However, there are a few breathtaking things we’ve put together that are less well known. First amongst them, are the living root bridges of the Khasi and Jaintia people. The bridges are constructed from the aerial roots of fig trees, which are coaxed to grow along a frame, which then disintegrates leaving only the roots behind. They are incredible feats of engineering taking decades to construct and can last more than a century. And they survive in a harsh environment where traditional bridges would fail within a few years. Let’s dive in, to the living root bridges of Meghalaya.
Rope Bridges: Beauty beyond belief
There are lots of different types of bridges. Humans have been building them in lots of different ways for thousands of years. When people think of ancient bridges, they probably think of structures of stone and wood, built using arches or pillars. There are also surprisingly ancient suspension bridges, made mainly out of rope used across the Incan empire over 1,000 years ago.
However, there is another way to make bridges – using living things. Certain plants put out what are called ‘aerial roots’. These are like the roots of a normal tree, but they grow above the ground, generally reaching out to find a place the plant can use to support itself, like a vine wrapping itself around a tree. These roots can be “trained” by humans, to grow in certain shapes, by using ropes and frames – like training a runner bean to grow up a stake.
A few peoples have taken advantage of these air roots, to build gorgeous bridges. The most famous ones have been created by the Khasi and Jaintia people in the Indian state of Meghalaya. The area is filled with Fig trees (Ficus elastica), which put out very large and thick aerial roots. To build the bridges, first a frame is structured, often using bamboo and rope to cross a river. Then, the young air roots of nearby trees are coaxed to grow along the frame from each side, until the roots from each side make it across the river. Even this initial process can take up to 20 years. Then over time, more and more roots come across until a substantial structure is created. Over time, soil and stones are placed on the bridge to make it a more solid structure.
These bridges are absolutely essential to life in Meghalaya. The area is one of the most mountainous, forested and wettest areas in the world. The state is 70% covered in forest and receives more than 12,000mm of rainfall every year. Even the name Meghalaya, actually means “place of the clouds”. This all combined means that traditional bridges made of stone and metal would not survive in Meghalaya. The regular landslides and high humidity would rust and destroy them.
However, these living root bridges are perfectly suited to these harsh environmental conditions in Meghalaya. Firstly, because the bridges are secured by trees instead of concrete pillars, they are much more secure and resist landslides, because of the tree’s more solid root systems. Secondly, the organic materials survive the high humidity far better than the modern materials of wood, stone or metal.
These root bridges aren’t just adequate – they are incredible feats of engineering. Some of them take over 50 years to build and can live for over 150 years. Several of the bridges are actually ‘double decker’ bridges, they have two separate levels with staircases leading up to them. There are a few other places in the world that create root bridges – the Jembatan akar on the island of Sumatra, and in the Banten province of Java, by the Baduy people. It’s not something that has been done in the Western or English-speaking world. We would probably not have the patience, foresight or care to build such marvels. We tend to chop trees down and have a much more short term and exploitative relationship with nature. We have so much to learn. Let’s hope we still have the time to learn it.
See more on humans and our relationship with nature here.
