Palanquin

It seems to us that the palanquin, which was much used here, was an adaptation to local circumstances of the palanquin that in India and China served to carry persons of rank. The American citizen John Adams Dix, who was in Madeira in 1842, describes the palanquin in these terms: ‘Many invalids who cannot walk and lack the strength to ride have as their only resource, and one recommended solely by necessity, a palanquin: a shoe-shaped plank surrounded by a small railing 6 inches high and fitted with a backrest. It is long enough for a person to sit and stretch out the legs. It is usually carpeted and furnished with cushions, with a cloth covering the pole from which it hangs, sometimes in the form of an oriental pavilion, showing good taste in its finish and richness in its ornamentation. This is what may be called the body of the carriage. It hangs from a rod fixed to a pole 12 feet long and 4 inches in diameter, so that, when in motion, it is only a short distance from the ground.

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It is carried on the shoulder by two men, who lean on a staff. Sometimes, to ease the shoulder, they pass this staff under the pole on the other shoulder as a lever, so that both shoulders share the weight. The ease and speed with which they travel with this weight between them is remarkable: they climb the steepest slopes without slackening their pace and descend them without slipping. Sometimes they use a litter (maca) instead of a palanquin; this is more common in the mountains, and not only is it lighter but, because it hangs shorter, it is carried more easily over rough ground, where the palanquin would be useless. For invalids, both these modes of transport are wretched substitutes for wheeled carriages. The palanquin has, however, one advantage over carriages: there is no danger of being thrown out of it and breaking one’s bones, as so often happens in the most modern vehicles. There can be no safer conveyance than the palanquin.

The palanquin disappeared from Madeira long ago. Some 40 years ago it served only to carry to the churches the little ‘angels’ who took part in the Lenten processions. By that time it was no longer used to transport adults, but in the first quarter of the 19th century it was used by ladies going out for a stroll or to pay visits. They could shield themselves from the public gaze by drawing the curtains of the canopy that hung over the pole by which the two bearers carried it.