The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include jiao (China), sedan chairs (England), palanquin (also known as palki ) (India), gama (Korea) and tahtırevan (Turkey). Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more men, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more men. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters will attempt to transfer the load to their shoulders, either by placing the carrying poles upon their shoulders, or the use of a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulder. The rickshaw is a related type of vehicle.
Definitions
A simple litter, often called a stretcher , consists of a sling attached along its length to poles or stretched inside a frame. The poles or frame are carried by porters in front and behind. Such simple litters are common on battlefields and emergency situations, where terrain prohibits wheeled vehicles from carrying away the dead and wounded.
Litters can also be created by the expedient of the lashing of poles to a chair. Such litters, consisting of a simple cane chair with maybe an umbrella to ward off the elements and two stout bamboo poles, may still be found in Chinese mountain resorts such as the Huangshan Mountains to carry tourists along scenic paths and to viewing positions inaccessible by other means of transport.
A more luxurious version consists of a bed or couch, sometimes enclosed by curtains, for the passenger or passengers to lie on. These are carried by at least two porters in equal numbers in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the couch. The largest and heaviest types would be carried by draught animals.
Another form, commonly called a sedan chair , consists of a chair or windowed cabin suitable for a single occupant, also carried by at least two porters in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the chair. These porters were known in London as "chairmen". These have been very rare since the 19th century, but such enclosed portable litters have been used as an elite form of transport for centuries, especially in cultures where women are kept secluded.
Sedan chairs, in use until the 19th century, were accompanied at night by link-boys who carried torches. Where possible, the link boys escorted the fares to the chairmen, the passengers then being delivered to the door of their lodgings. Several houses in Bath, Somerset, England still have the link extinguishers on the exteriors, shaped like outsized candle snuffers. (photo) In the 1970s, entrepreneur and Bathwick resident, John Cuningham, revived the sedan chair service business for a brief amount of time.
Antiquity
- In pharaonic Egypt (hence the papal Sedia gestatoria) and many oriental realms such as China, the ruler and divinities (in the form of an idol) were often transported thus in public, frequently in procession, as during state ceremonial or religious festivals
- In Ancient Rome, a litter called lectica often carried members of the imperial family, but also other dignitaries and other members of the rich elite, when not mounted. The habit must have proven quite persistent, for the Third Council of Braga in 675 AD saw the need to order that bishops, when carrying the relics of martyrs in procession, must walk to the church, and not be carried in a chair, or litter, by deacons clothed in white.
In Asia
China
In Han China the elite travelled in light bamboo seats supported on a carrier's back like a backpack. In the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, wooden carriages on poles appear in painted landscape scrolls.
A commoner used a wooden or bamboo civil litter (simplified Chinese: 民轎 ; pinyin: mín jiān), while the mandarin class used an official litter ({{zh|s=官轎|p=guān jiān}|links=no}) enclosed in silk curtains.
The chair with perhaps the greatest importance was the bridal chair. A traditional bride is carried to her wedding ceremony by a “shoulder carriage” (simplified Chinese: 肩舆 ; pinyin: jiān yú), usually hired. These were lacquered in an auspicious shade of red, richly ornamented and gilded, and were equipped with red silk curtains to screen the bride from onlookers.
Sedan chairs were once the only public conveyance in Hong Kong, serving the role of cabs. Chair stands were found at all hotels, wharves, and major crossroads. Public chairs were licensed, and charged according to tariffs which would be displayed inside. Private chairs were an important marker of a person's status. Civil officers' status was denoted by the number of bearers attached to his chair. Before Hong Kong's Peak Tram went into service in 1888, wealthy residents of The Peak were carried on sedan chairs by coolies up the steep paths to their residence including Sir Richard MacDonnell's (former Governor of Hong Kong) summer home, where they could take advantage of the cooler climate. Since 1975 an annual sedan chair race has been held to benefit the Matilda Hospital and commemorate the practice of earlier days.
South Asia
Main article: Transport in India#PalanquinA palanquin , also known as palkhi , is a covered sedan chair (or litter) carried on four poles. It derives from the Sanskrit word for a bed or couch, presumably via pallakku , the Tamil for 'bed, couch'. In Telugu and Kannada it is called as Pallaki .
Palanquins are mentioned in literature as early as the Ramayana (c. 250BC).
Palanquins began to fall out of use after rickshaws (on wheels, more practical) were introduced in the 1930s.
The doli (also transliterated from Hindi as dhooly or dhoolie ) is a cot or frame, suspended by the four corners from a bamboo pole. Two or four men would carry it. In the time of the British in India, dhooly-bearers were used to carry the wounded from the battlefield and transport them.
Today in numerous areas of India including at the controversial Hindu pilgrimage site of Amarnath temple Amarnath in Kashmir, Palaquins can be hired to carry the customer up steep hills.
Indonesia
In traditional Javanese society- the generic palanquin or joli - was a wicker chair with a canopy, attached to two poles, borne on men's shoulders available for hire to any paying customer. As a status marker, gilded throne-like palanquins, or jempana were originally solely reserved for the royalty and later co-opted by the Dutch. As a status marker: the more elaborate the palanquin- the higher the status of the owner. The joli was transported by either hired help, nobles' peasants or slaves.
Historically, the Javanese king's ( raja ), prince ( pangeran ), lord ( raden mas ) or other noble ( bangsawan )'s palanquin ( jempana or if more like a throne: pangkem ) was always part of a large military procession, with a yellow square-shaped canopy: the Javanese colour for royalty; with the ceremonial parasol ( payung ) held above it, carried by a bearer behind and flanked by the most loyal bodyguards, usually about 12 men, with pikes, sabres, lances, muskets, keris and all manner of disguised blades. The canopy of the Sumatran palanquin was oval-shaped and draped in white cloth- reflective of greater cultural permeation of Islamic cultures. Occasionally, a weapon or heirloom, such as an important keris or tombak, was given its' own palanquin. In Hindu culture in Bali today, the tradition of palanquins for auspicious statues, weapons or heirlooms continues for funerals especially, and for more elaborate rituals palanquin for the dead, subsequently cremated along with the departed.Japan
As the population of Japan increased, less and less land was available as grazing for the upkeep of horses. With the availability of horses restricted to martial uses, human powered transport became more important and prevalent.
Palanquins ( kago かご) were often used in Japan to transport the warrior class and nobility, most famously during the Tokugawa p
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