Palanquin

Palanquin, or PALKI, an Indian vehicle corresponding somewhat to the Roman litter and the modern European sedan-chair, but, unlike the latter, used for long distances by travellers where railways or good carriage-roads do not exist. It is a wooden box, about 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high, with wooden shutters which can be opened or shut at pleasure, and constructed like Venetian blinds. At each end of the palanquin, on the outside, two rings are fixed, and the ham-mals, or palanquin-bearers, of whom there are four, two at each end, support the palanquin by a pole passing through these rings.