Bamboo and Cane Bridges of Arunachal Pradesh

The Monpa tribe is the only tribe in Arunachal Pradesh that builds suspension bridges of bamboo ropes. They also make a wide range of other products such as bridges from bamboo strands, baskets and fences from splits and containers from flattened bamboo, thus utilizing every part of the Plant. Bridges built of cane and bamboo instead of steel cables and concrete over torrential mountain streams demonstrate the confidence of the people in the strength and resilience of the raw material.

The bamboo used for building bridges is a locally grown species of a thin wall. These thin stems are twisted to form thin ropes that are used as the cables of the bridge. A dao/broad-bladed knife is used in cutting the bamboo stems. From the collection of raw materials to the complete construction of a bridge, the Monpas work as a team.

The Monpa bamboo bridge is made of woven bamboo mats for flooring and side panels. The cane suspension bridge made by the Sherdukpen tribe is a closed tubular structure made from whole cane. The Adi tribes in Siang district also construct bamboo and cane suspension bridges.