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From the 19
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to the 20
th
century
Historian Jorge Cavalheiro talks about the evolution of the rickshaws
i
N last years of the 19th century, rickshaws were everywhere, knack of knowing where the passenger wanted to go. They rarely
Macau was saturated with them. Used daily by residents and asked the destination,” as illustrated in the book. “ The instinct of
visitors for their small commutes and tourist visits, they had become chair coolies in Macau is unbeatable; because, if someone leaves
apart of Macau’s reality. For 50 years it was the most commonly used the house on foot, and somebody seeks for him two hours later, the
means of transport. Nowadays cars have that role. The evolution is coolie goes in a strait line to search for and find the person, wherever
outlined by Jorge Cavalheiro, historian and author of the book “Da he is. “ The traditional coolies and rickshaws were also, slowly,
sampana ao jactoplanador, da cadeirinha ao automóvel (From the replaced.
sampana to the jetfoil, from the sedan-chair to the car).”
They could go up and down “the narrow and rough streets.“ and The tricycle
were therefore the most convenient vehicle. a lot of families had their
own rickshaws and they used it for their daily commute. it was “widely From World War ii onwards, the tricycle was born. That’s the one
used in Macau, a small territory, without much development until the still rolling today in the streets of Macau and Hong Kong. Nowadays,
end of the seventies,” he says. even the “tricycles play a small role, being only for tourists, “ Jorge
it was a car formerly moved by men on foot “widely used, having Cavalheiro says.” Nobody in the neighborhood uses them,” he adds.
disappeared from the streets and social environment panoramas” as Nor do the drivers “want them - tourists have more money.”
per the author’s book. “a small pushcart, very light, with steel striped “The rickshaw was still here in the eighties, but only to transport
wheels, trimmed by rubber arches, with seating for one person also goods,” he says. according to the historian, “people no longer were
featuring a hood for sun or rain, two delicate shafts between which comfortable with the idea of being carried by a man.” The tricycle
the coolie pulls; and as in any other carriage, a bell or rattle and made more sense. “it’s a bicycle, not a man carrying directly “,
respective lanterns “, he describes in the publication. he explains. Besides, it could carry two people and was not so
The rickshaws substituted another means of transportation, the humiliating.”
sedan-chair. it was “widely used still at the end of the 19th century. Tricycles are also doomed to disappear. “Usually the drivers
With the arrival of the 20th century people were transported mainly are senior citizens. Once they’re gone, tricycles should also be
by rickshaws, one can read. With some luck, you might still be able to finished, unless we see some kind of revivalism on the part of
surprise a street vendor transporting his goods in an old rickshaw.” the Tourism Services”. Nowadays they gather near Hotel lisboa.
The sedan-chair and the rickshaws are synonymous with coolies. “it was Macau’s casino, the tourists passed and later they were
“Everyone knows through experience that coolies had a particular collected by them,” he says.
april 2009
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