The Origins of Bungee Jumping

When Phil was 17 and went on a family trip with his girlfriend and came back telling me he had gone bungee jumping in Lake Tahoe, I was shocked.  I couldn't imagine a parent allowing an under age child to do such a dangerous activity without permission, but they did, and he lived to tell about it.  Since then, I have always been fascinated with bungee jumping, and wonder WHY anyone would do it.  When I researched the origins of bungee jumping, I found that its predecessors have been around for a long, long time.

On the island of Penecost, one of the 83 islands that make up the nation of Vanatu, land diving has been a ritual forever.  This small South Pacific island has only 17,000 permanent residents, most living on the west coast of the island.  The east coast is wild and uninhabited.  There are no real towns, mostly rural villages, with homes built of wood or bamboo.  They survive by subsistence agriculture and cash crops, including taro, yams, bananas, coconuts and island cabbage.  Pigs are highly important in Penecost, and may be given as payment during the marriage ceremony.  There are 5 indigeneous languages.  Additionally, Bisiana, a form of pidgin English is spoken by most.  These are mostly tribal groups, and land diving is one of their ancient rituals.

Land diving is an ancient ritual in which young men jump from a tall wooden platform (that looks like it might topple over at any time) with vines tied to their ankles, as a test of courage and passage to manhood.  (the men I know would take a bar mitzvah any day!).  Then, in 1979 a bunch of crazy Brits in Bristol jumped off a bridge using a cord.  From there, it spread all over the world, with New Zealand claiming the first organized bungee jumping.  In any event, the people of Penecost claim they should be compensated for what they view as unauthorized appropriation of their cultural property.   Do you think they're entitled to anything?  I don't think so, but it is interesting, at least to me, how bungee jumping got started.

Check out this u tube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjuOav9o43g