Short answers, pulled from the story.
A litter is a class of wheelless, human-powered vehicles used to transport people. It consists of a chair, bed, or enclosed cabin mounted on poles, which porters carry on their shoulders in front and behind. Porters either place the poles directly on their shoulders or use a yoke to transfer the load.
A palanquin is a covered litter, usually for one passenger, carried by an even number of bearers on their shoulders by means of a pole projecting fore and aft. The word derives from the Sanskrit palyanka, meaning bed or couch. Palanquins were used extensively across India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and by European traders and colonists in Asia.
Sedan chairs began declining in Britain in the early 19th century, replaced by the hackney carriage. In Glasgow, licensing records show the number fell from twenty-seven sedan chairs in 1800 to ten in 1828, while registered hackney carriages rose to one hundred and fifty in the same period.
Yes. In 1787, Benjamin Franklin, then 81 years old and suffering from gout, traveled to meetings of the United States Constitutional Convention in a sedan chair carried by four prisoners.
Gama were wooden litters used in Korea by royalty, aristocrats, and government officials. Six distinct types existed, each assigned to different official rankings. They were preferred over wheeled vehicles because of Korea's mountainous terrain and lack of paved roads, and were also used in traditional weddings and funerals.
Litters have carried sacred objects and figures across many traditions. In ancient Rome, the lectica carried imperial family members in procession. Popes were transported in the sedia gestatoria. In Japan, portable shrines carry the goshintai during Shinto festivals. In Bali, palanquins bear sacred heirlooms and the bodies of the deceased at funerals. In traditional Catholic processions, holy statues and relics are still carried through streets on litters.