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A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who carries objects or cargo for others. The range of services conducted by porters is extensive, from shuttling luggage aboard a train (a railroad porter) to bearing heavy burdens at altitude in inclement weather on multi-month mountaineering expeditions. They can carry items on their backs (
backpack A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...
) or on their heads. The word "porter" derives from the Latin ''portare'' (to carry). The use of humans to transport cargo dates to the ancient world, prior to domesticating animals and development of the wheel. Historically it remained prevalent in areas where slavery was permitted, and exists today where modern forms of mechanical conveyance are impractical or impossible, such as in mountainous terrain, or thick jungle or forest cover. Over time slavery diminished and technology advanced, but the role of porter for specialized transporting services remains strong in the 21st century. Examples include bellhops at hotels, redcaps at railway stations, skycaps at airports, and bearers on adventure trips engaged by foreign travelers.


Expeditions

Porters, frequently called ''Sherpas'' in the Himalayas (after the ethnic group most Himalayan porters come from), are also an essential part of mountaineering: they are typically highly skilled professionals who specialize in the logistics of mountain climbing, not merely people paid to carry loads (although carrying is integral to the profession). Frequently, porters/Sherpas work for companies who hire them out to climbing groups, to serve both as porters and as mountain guides; the term "guide" is often used interchangeably with "Sherpa" or "porter", but there are certain differences. Porters are expected to prepare the route before and/or while the main expedition climbs, climbing up beforehand with tents, food, water, and equipment (enough for themselves and for the main expedition), which they place in carefully located deposits on the mountain. This preparation can take months of work before the main expedition starts. Doing this involves numerous trips up and down the mountain, until the last and smallest supply deposit is planted shortly below the peak. When the route is prepared, either entirely or in stages ahead of the expedition, the main body follows. The last stage is often done without the porters, they remaining at the last camp, a quarter mile or below the summit, meaning only the main expedition is given the credit for mounting the summit. In many cases, since the porters are going ahead, they are forced to freeclimb, driving spikes and laying safety lines for the main expedition to use as they follow. Porters (such as Sherpas for example), are frequently local ethnic types, well adapted to living in the rarified atmosphere and accustomed to life in the mountains. Although they receive little glory, porters or Sherpas are often considered among the most skilled of mountaineers, and are generally treated with respect, since the success of the entire expedition is only possible through their work. They are also often called upon to stage rescue expeditions when a part of the party is endangered or there is an injury; when a rescue attempt is successful, several porters are usually called upon to transport the injured climber(s) back down the mountain so the expedition can continue. A well known incident where porters attempted to rescue numerous stranded climbers, and often died as a result, is the
2008 K2 disaster The 2008 K2 disaster occurred on 1 August 2008, when 11 mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second- highest mountain on Earth. Three others were seriously injured. The series of deaths, over the course of the Friday as ...
. Sixteen Sherpas were killed in the
2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche On 18 April 2014, seracs on the western spur of Mount Everest failed, resulting in an ice avalanche that killed sixteen climbing Sherpas in the Khumbu Icefall. This was the same icefall where the 1970 Mount Everest disaster had taken place. ...
, inciting the entire Sherpa guide community to refuse to undertake any more ascents for the remainder of the year, making any further expeditions impossible.


History

Human adaptability and flexibility led to the early use of humans for
transporting Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, a ...
gear. Porters were commonly used as
beasts of burden A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for ...
in the ancient world, when labor was generally cheap and slavery widespread. The ancient
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of ...
ians, for example, enslaved women to shift wool and flax. In the early Americas, where there were few native beasts of burden, all goods were carried by porters called Tlamemes in the
Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...
language of
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...
. In colonial times, some areas of the Andes employed porters called
sillero The silleros, cargueros or silleteros (also called saddle-men) were the porters used to carry people and their belongings through routes impossible by horse carriage. A famous example is the use of silleros by colonial officials to be carried a ...
s to carry persons, particularly Europeans, as well as their luggage across the difficult mountain passes. Throughout the globe porters served, and in some areas continue to, as such littermen, particularly in crowded urban areas. Many great works of engineering were created solely by muscle power in the days before machinery or even wheelbarrows and wagons; massive workforces of workers and bearers would complete impressive earthworks by manually lugging the earth, stones, or bricks in baskets on their backs. Porters were very important to the local economies of many large cities in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
during the 1800s, where they were known as ''ganhadores''. In 1857, ''ganhadores'' in
Salvador, Bahia Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisi ...
, went on strike in the first
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...
in the country's history.


Contribution to mountain climbing expeditions

The contributions of porters can often go overlooked. Amir Mehdi was a Pakistani mountaineer and porter known for being part of the team which managed the first successful ascent of Nanga Parbat in 1953, and of K2 in 1954 with an Italian expedition. He, along with the Italian mountaineer
Walter Bonatti Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountain climber, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru ...
, are also known for having survived a night at the highest open bivouac - - on K2 in 1954. Fazal Ali, who was born in the Shimshal Valley in Pakistan North, is - according to the ''
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' - the only man ever to have scaled K2 (8611m) three times, in 2014, 2017 and 2018, all without oxygen, but his achievements have gone largely unrecognised.


Today

Porters are still paid to shift burdens in many third-world countries where motorized transport is impractical or unavailable, often alongside pack animals. The Sherpa people of
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
are so renowned as
mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...
porters that their
ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and us ...
is synonymous with that profession. Their skill, knowledge of the mountains and local culture, and ability to perform at altitude make them indispensable for the highest Himalayan expeditions. Porters at
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n railway stations are called
coolies A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
, a term for unskilled Asian labourer derived from the Chinese word for porter. Mountain porters are also still in use in a handful of more developed countries, including
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
(''horský nosič'') and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
(''bokka'', 歩荷). These men (and more rarely women) regularly resupply mountain huts and tourist chalets at high-altitude mountain ranges. Japanese mountain chalet porter Masato Hagiwara in action
YouTube.com. 28 September 2018.


In North America

Certain trade-specific terms are used for forms of porters in North America, including bellhop (hotel porter), redcap (railway station porter), and skycap (airport porter). The practice of railroad station porters wearing red-colored caps to distinguish them from blue-capped train personnel with other duties was begun on Labor Day of 1890 by an African-American porter in order to stand out from the crowds at
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
in New York City. The tactic immediately caught on, over time adapted by other forms of porters for their specialties.


Photos

Carrier.jpg, A porter in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
wearing a dǒulì Railway station COOLIE.JPG, An
Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...
porter Japanese porters.jpg, Porters at a ford on the Sakawa River, near Odawara Nepali porters.jpg, Nepali porters on Annapurna Circuit Porter Venice bridge 07 2017 4960.jpg, Porter carrying luggage over a pedestrian bridge in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
File:Женщина-портер на Килиманджаро.jpg, Porter on
Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...
Head porters Ghana.jpg, Ghanaian
kayayei Kayayei or Kaya Yei is a Ghanaian term for a female porter or bearer. Many of these women have migrated from a rural community to any of Ghana's urban cities in search of work. They generally carry their burdens on their heads. Etymology The te ...
resting after work in
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...


See also

* Head-carrying *
Kayayei Kayayei or Kaya Yei is a Ghanaian term for a female porter or bearer. Many of these women have migrated from a rural community to any of Ghana's urban cities in search of work. They generally carry their burdens on their heads. Etymology The te ...
(Ghanaian term for a female porter) *
Human-powered transport Human-powered transport is the transport of person(s) and/or goods using human muscle power. Unlike animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming. Modern techn ...
* Land transport *
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 ...
* Tumpline


References

{{Reflist * ''Herinneringen aan Japan, 1850 - 1870: Foto's en Fotoalbums in Nederlands Bezit'' ('s-Gravenhage : Staatsuitgeverij, 1987), pp. 106–107, repr.
New York Public Library, s.v. "Beato, Felice"
cited 21 June 2006. Personal care and service occupations Transport occupations Walking Mountaineering