Water carrier (also water seller) is a

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...

that existed before the advent of centralized water supply systems. A water carrier collected water from a source (a river, a well, water pumps, etc.) and transported or carried containers with water to people's homes. After the construction of pipe networks, the profession of water carrier became unnecessary and disappeared. In late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

, there were over one thousand people who worked as water carriers. They not only performed their official duties, but also helped the elderly and sick who could not take care of themselves with housework. In the 1940s Chengdu water carriers still went barefoot to show that they go deep into the river to collect the purest water.

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File:Le Kef les porteurs d'eau.JPG,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, early 20th century File:Weeks Edwin Water Carriers Of The Ganges.jpg, Water carriers on the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

, early 20th century File:Pails and buckets.jpg,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

in 2006 File:Ponti Water carrier.jpg,

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 ...

, 19th century File:Edouard Castres Porteuse d’eau au bord du Nil.jpg, Water carrier on the banks of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

, early 20th century File:Eugen von Blaas Die Wasserträgerin 1887.jpg, ''The Water Carrier'', by

Eugene de Blaas Eugene de Blaas, also known as Eugene von Blaas or Eugenio Blaas (24 July 1843 – 10 February 1931), was an Italian painter in the school known as Academic Classicism. Life and career He was born at Albano, near Rome, to a Tyrolean fa ...

(1887) File:Pikolan A.jpg, Statue of a water carrier with a pikolan (yoke),

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

File:Puerto del Rosario - Avenida de Juan de Bethencourt-Calle Leon Y Castillo - El Aguador 02 ies.jpg, ''El Aguador'' (The Water Carrier) by Emiliano G. Hernández. Avenida de Juan de Bethencourt and Calle Leon Y Castillo in

Puerto del Rosario Puerto del Rosario () is a town and a municipality in the eastern part of the island of Fuerteventura in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. It has been the capital of Fuerteventura since 1860. The town's population is 29,160 (2013),< ...

, Fuerteventura,

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

File:Blaas Eugene de Le Travail.jpg, ''Le Travail'', by

() File:Dymkovo Porteuse Eau.jpg, ''Vodonoska'', the Water Carrier. Russian Dymkovo painted figurine in clay File:A woman from Ghana selling water.jpg, A woman selling water at

Makola, Ghana Makola is a town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It houses one of the largest trading centres in Ghana – Makola Market – and the premiere campus of the Ghana School of Law The Ghana School of Law (GSL) is an educational institution i ...

References

* * * {{Authority control Food services occupations Obsolete occupations Water

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See also

References