A carrying pole, also called a shoulder pole or a milkmaid's yoke, is a

yoke A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...

of wood or bamboo, used by people to carry a load. This piece of equipment is used in one of two basic ways: *A single person balances the yoke over one shoulder, with an evenly distributed load being suspended from each end. *Two people support the yoke by resting it on a shoulder, with the load suspended from the centre of the yoke. It is still widely used in East Asia, and was once also used in Europe and the Western World, in particular by milkmaids. It has been used in the United States, Australia, and Europe. It was also commonly used in Sri Lanka, where it was called ''Pingo''. There are early 19th century postcards from Ceylon with ''Pingo Carriers''. The basic design is a

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

, usually tapered. From each end of the yoke, a load of equal mass is suspended. The load may be a basket of goods, pail of milk, water or other liquid, suspended on rope. The load may be hung directly from the yoke, without any rope. The individual carries the device by balancing the yoke upon one or both shoulders. The Western milkmaid's yoke is fitted over both shoulders. However, the East Asian type is carried on one shoulder. This allows the wearer to orient the yoke along the path of travel, in order to more easily navigate crowded areas.

Types

Canoe

Many canoes include a thwart shaped like a yoke to aid in carrying the boat. The

gunwale The gunwale () is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally the structure was the "gun wale" on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firi ...

s of the inverted canoe rest upon the ends of the yoke, which is normally positioned slightly ahead of the centre of gravity of the vessel. This allows the bow to tip slightly upward when being transported, giving the carrier a view in the direction of travel when being

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

East Asian

This device is still widely used in East Asia, and is considered an icon of the region. The yoke of this type is sometimes made of wood, but is usually made of bamboo. A large diameter piece of bamboo is used. It is split to produce a fairly flat piece, which is then tapered at each end. A notch is cut at the ends, similar in shape to an arrow head. This prevents the ropes from slipping off. The bamboo yoke is normally between 1 and 1.5 meters in length, and carried with the curved (outside surface) of the bamboo against the shoulder. Three ropes, about 0.5 metres each, attach the basket to the ends of the yoke. Throughout China, the baskets usually include a cover, but these are rarely used. They are normally kept inverted on the top of the baskets. The goods are placed within the inverted cover. This device is not only used to transport goods, but is very commonly used as a point of sale. A vendor fills the baskets with goods, normally fruits and vegetables, a small stool, plastic bags, and a scale, and selects a roadside location in a place with plenty of foot traffic. There, they sell their goods. Often, they move from one place to another depending on sales. The carrying pole has distinct advantages over the vending cart, the other main manual conveyance of goods in East Asia. The carrying pole can be transported within a motorized vehicle. It is common in China for a group of vendors to enter an urban area each morning in a truck from their village. From a central area, the vendors disperse, selling their goods. Later in the day, they return to the truck then to their village. Independent vendors are also often allowed to transport their carrying poles on intercity buses, and can be seen entering cities to sell their goods.

Gallery

file:Fishermen at Visakhapatnam beach.jpg, Fishermen in

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

, India, returning with a tuna File:Saint Petersburg woman carrying buckets of water, near Leningrad (1).jpg, Russian woman with carrying yoke near Leningrad, 1932 File:The water transfer.jpg, Ukrainian woman wearing traditional dress with carrying yoke File:Maelkejunger aag fjelstrup haderslev 193x danske kvinders fotoarkiv.jpg, A Danish milk maid File:Bundesarchiv Bild 105-DOA0015, Deutsch-Ostafrika, Heimkehr von der Jagd.jpg, Returning from a hunt in East Africa. Circa 1912 File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Het met watergieters besproeien van de weg Nederlands-Indië TMnr 60040110.jpg, A worker waters a road in the Dutch East Indies File:Old man with carrying pole.JPG, A man carrying everyday items in

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

, China File:Woman_under_yoke_carrying_wicker_baskets.jpg, Woman carrying wicker baskets, Laos File:Arya.picul.pikul.2013.jpg, Man serving tahu gejrot in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

References

External links