An extreme form of sport that is relatively safe, bungee jumping has a brief, surprising history.
It has its roots in Pentecost Island in the Southern Pacific region. The old legend had a female victim of marital abuse jumping off a large tree with her feet tied to the vines, escaping the fall. The abusive husband who jumped after her died after hitting the ground.

Bungee Jumping: The Legend

The legend of Pentecost gave birth to the ritual of naghol, or land diving, where men jump off a wooden tower to pray for a bountiful yam harvest, and to prove their manhood. 
The world got to know about this in a BBC Documentary in 1950.

Naghol: Land Diving

Bungee Jumping was a stunt carried by David Kirke, the first bungee jumper, who jumped off the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol along with two other friends who were all members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club. 
Even after being arrested and fined, they repeated the stunt on various other bridges, cranes and hot air balloons, making bungee jumping famous.

Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club

New Zealander AJ Hackett, the first mainstream bungee jumper, was jumping off bridges and even the Eiffel Tower in 1986, later opening the first commercial bungee jumping site in New Zealand, and is responsible for making this extreme sport popular across the world.

Bungee Jumping In The 80s

Captain Rahul Nigam introduced serious bungee jumping in Rishikesh, India, where he set up ‘Jumpin Heights’ a site where participants jumped 83 meters into the holy river Ganga. 
He enlisted top experts from New Zealand to ensure safety.

Bungee Jumping In Rishikesh

<img alt="Shweta Venkatramani" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*WAn4CHsUce0IPQTZHLEtjw" width="48" height="48">“If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you too?”Oh yes, I would! And you should too!Bungee Jumping is one of the most extreme tests of courage. You know you’re not going to die. You’ve got all equipment in place, double and triple checked. But that moment, right before you jump, you always hesitate, if only for a couple of seconds. It’s never easy to just jump off. But the feeling of accomplishment after that is amazing.Bungee is one of those things that you just look at and wonder, “What the hell were people thinking when they invented it?” A good Yam harvest, that’s what! Here’s the brief, surprising Bungee Jumping History<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Naghol</h2><figure><img alt="Pentecost_Land_Diving" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*89aZpuCJ4rSBlSab.jpg" width="300" height="197"></figure>Bungee jumping has its roots in an ancient, somewhat weird, ritual of Pentecost Island, in the Southern Pacific. Legend has it that Tamalie, a native was abusing his wife. To get away, she climbed up a tree. He followed her up there. In the meanwhile, the said wife had tied vines around her ankles, but Tamalie didn’t know this. She jumped from the tree and was suspended by the vines. Tamalie jumped after her, but obviously hit the ground and died.<figure><img alt="Image: Talk Business" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*ZsLuJKvz4sGtRC0C.jpg" width="300" height="169"><figcaption class="jj jk cy cw cx jl jm cd b ez cf cg" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Image: <a href="https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=images&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjotefTrprYAhUGr48KHeQeArEQjhwIBQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.talk-business.co.uk%2F2016%2F09%2F22%2Faj-hackett-history-bungee-jumping%2F&amp;psig=AOvVaw2j9R4hcEWCfk1QwSesFclf&amp;ust=1513917053579877" class="cj jn" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Talk Business</a></figcaption></figure>Since then, men have taken it upon themselves to practise this ritual of Naghol or Land Diving, to prove their manhood. Every year, at the start of the yam harvest season, men jump from a wooden tower built specifically for this, with elastic vines tied around their ankles. It is also said to help in ensuring a bountiful yam harvest.David Attenborough, the legendary naturalist, visited Pentecost with a BBC camera crew in 1950. The world then heard about Land diving for the first time.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Clifton Suspension Bridge</h2><figure><img alt="bungee jumping history" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*buvrjW5ENfxP9-v4.jpg" width="300" height="155"><figcaption class="jj jk cy cw cx jl jm cd b ez cf cg" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Image: <a href="https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=images&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj0lJH_r5rYAhVJNo8KHcIJDQMQjhwIBQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pressreader.com%2Fuk%2Fscottish-daily-mail%2F20160415%2F283287456813089&amp;psig=AOvVaw2u5X2EwjyQXQCdXlf17CL0&amp;ust=1513920409757533" class="cj jn" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">PressReader</a></figcaption></figure>Exactly 29 years later, on the April Fool’s day of 1979, the West saw the first ever Bungee Jump. David Kirke, dressed in a tuxedo, and holding a champagne bottle, jumped off the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. Onlookers at first thought this was a suicide. But Kirk never hit the water, but slowed right before hitting it and began a re-ascent. His two other friends, all members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club, did the same.When police arrived, the trio were hanging upside down, from their ropes. They were arrested, fined, and turned into overnight sensations. But they didn’t stop here. They also jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge and the Royal George Bridge (sponsored by the TV show That’s Incredible). Their stunts made Bungee famous, as they took to jumping from cranes and hot air balloons.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">AJ Hackett</h2><figure><img alt="Image: Talk Business" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*U9zcKnkAR6OuTt1w.jpg" width="300" height="168"><figcaption class="jj jk cy cw cx jl jm cd b ez cf cg" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Image: <a href="https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=images&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiOlIv1sJrYAhVIrY8KHcb5D1kQjhwIBQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.talk-business.co.uk%2F2016%2F09%2F22%2Faj-hackett-history-bungee-jumping%2F&amp;psig=AOvVaw20hNbfh_KOL31CDqNUzkOO&amp;ust=1513920838289226" class="cj jn" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Talk Business</a></figcaption></figure>The sport started its organized growth when AJ Hackett entered the scene. The New Zealander made his first jump from Greenhithe Bridge in Auckland in 1986. He performed several other jumps from structures, including the Eiffel Tower! He opened the World’s first ever commercial Bungee site — the Kawaru Bridge Bungy near Queenstown in New Zealand.<figure><img alt="bungee jumping history" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*izluclGDc71f6DCD.jpg" width="300" height="201"></figure>Hackett remains one of the largest and most successful commercial operators and has opened up sites in several countries.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Jumpin Heights</h2><figure><img alt="bungee_jumping" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*y5D20otD4POkZmoO.jpg" width="300" height="175"></figure>Although Bungee was not a completely foreign concept in India, jumps were usually from cranes and in malls, not that much of a thrill. Capt Rahul Nigam wanted to introduce Bungee in India so it could be perceived as ‘serious adventure’ and not ‘entertainment’. In 2006, he set up Jumpin Heights in Rishikesh, where participants jump from a height of 83m, just above the Ganga.He flew in experts from New Zealand, and to date, the setup has a successful record, with Jumpmasters from New Zealand supervising the process.<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Fun Fact</h2>Or strange Fact- In April 2008, 37-year-old Carl Mosca Dionisio, jumped off a 30 m tower attached to a bungee cord. What’s so special about this, you ask?<figure><img alt="Image: Metro" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*XBn_To0iccxvuU6w.jpg" width="300" height="200"><figcaption class="jj jk cy cw cx jl jm cd b ez cf cg" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Image: <a href="https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=images&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjeleTXsprYAhXHQo8KHecIACYQjhwIBQ&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fmetro.co.uk%2F2008%2F04%2F21%2Fbungee-jumper-uses-30m-condom-rope-93683%2F&amp;psig=AOvVaw0WuCQ56dcRl7D6cULwf_Te&amp;ust=1513921234293857" class="cj jn" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Metro</a></figcaption></figure>Well, this cord was made entirely condoms- 18500, to be precise (Sigh, some people!)You don’t have to be that crazy, but trying Bungee with the experienced instructors at Rishikesh, and watching the river below inch closer, is just the right kind of crazy.Other reads for those slow afternoons:

Bungee Jumping is one of the most extreme tests of courage. The extreme sport’s history is not surprisingly- extreme! Read on to uncover the crazy events behind the Bungee’s invention!

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History

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

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Entertainment

“If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you too?”

Oh yes, I would! And you should too!

Bungee Jumping is one of the most extreme tests of courage. You know you’re not going to die. You’ve got all equipment in place, double and triple checked. But that moment, right before you jump, you always hesitate, if only for a couple of seconds. It’s never easy to just jump off. But the feeling of accomplishment after that is amazing.

Bungee is one of those things that you just look at and wonder, “What the hell were people thinking when they invented it?” A good Yam harvest, that’s what! Here’s the brief, surprising Bungee Jumping History

Bungee jumping has its roots in an ancient, somewhat weird, ritual of Pentecost Island, in the Southern Pacific. Legend has it that Tamalie, a native was abusing his wife. To get away, she climbed up a tree. He followed her up there. In the meanwhile, the said wife had tied vines around her ankles, but Tamalie didn’t know this. She jumped from the tree and was suspended by the vines. Tamalie jumped after her, but obviously hit the ground and died.

Since then, men have taken it upon themselves to practise this ritual of Naghol or Land Diving, to prove their manhood. Every year, at the start of the yam harvest season, men jump from a wooden tower built specifically for this, with elastic vines tied around their ankles. It is also said to help in ensuring a bountiful yam harvest.

David Attenborough, the legendary naturalist, visited Pentecost with a BBC camera crew in 1950. The world then heard about Land diving for the first time.

Exactly 29 years later, on the April Fool’s day of 1979, the West saw the first ever Bungee Jump. David Kirke, dressed in a tuxedo, and holding a champagne bottle, jumped off the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. Onlookers at first thought this was a suicide. But Kirk never hit the water, but slowed right before hitting it and began a re-ascent. His two other friends, all members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club, did the same.

When police arrived, the trio were hanging upside down, from their ropes. They were arrested, fined, and turned into overnight sensations. But they didn’t stop here. They also jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge and the Royal George Bridge (sponsored by the TV show That’s Incredible). Their stunts made Bungee famous, as they took to jumping from cranes and hot air balloons.

The sport started its organized growth when AJ Hackett entered the scene. The New Zealander made his first jump from Greenhithe Bridge in Auckland in 1986. He performed several other jumps from structures, including the Eiffel Tower! He opened the World’s first ever commercial Bungee site — the Kawaru Bridge Bungy near Queenstown in New Zealand.

Hackett remains one of the largest and most successful commercial operators and has opened up sites in several countries.

Although Bungee was not a completely foreign concept in India, jumps were usually from cranes and in malls, not that much of a thrill. Capt Rahul Nigam wanted to introduce Bungee in India so it could be perceived as ‘serious adventure’ and not ‘entertainment’. In 2006, he set up Jumpin Heights in Rishikesh, where participants jump from a height of 83m, just above the Ganga.

He flew in experts from New Zealand, and to date, the setup has a successful record, with Jumpmasters from New Zealand supervising the process.

Or strange Fact- In April 2008, 37-year-old Carl Mosca Dionisio, jumped off a 30 m tower attached to a bungee cord. What’s so special about this, you ask?

Well, this cord was made entirely condoms- 18500, to be precise (Sigh, some people!)

You don’t have to be that crazy, but trying Bungee with the experienced instructors at Rishikesh, and watching the river below inch closer, is just the right kind of crazy.

Other reads for those slow afternoons:

The amusing history of Bungee Jumping

Bungee Jumping: The Legend

Naghol: Land Diving

Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club

Bungee Jumping In The 80s

Bungee Jumping In Rishikesh

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