Carriage placed on the back of an elephant, camel, or other animal
Not to be confused with Howrah.
For the handgun, see Howdah pistol.
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Howdah
Howdah
Country
Delhi Sultanate Deccan Sultanates Mughal Empire
Branch
Cavalry (ranged)
Military unit
Howdahs on the elephants of the Maharaja of Travancore. May 1841.Elephant with howdah
A howdah, or houdah (Hindi: हौदा, romanized: haudā), derived from the Arabic هودج (hawdaj), which means "bed carried by a camel", also known as hathi howdah (hāthī haudā, हाथी हौदा), is a carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some other animal such as a camel, used most often in the past to carry wealthy people during progresses or processions, hunting or in warfare. It was also a symbol of wealth for the owner and as a result might be elaborately decorated, even with expensive gemstones.
Notable howdahs are the Golden Howdah, on display at the Napier Museum at Thiruvananthapuram, which was used by the Maharaja of Travancore and that is used traditionally during the Elephant Procession of the famous Mysore Dasara. The Mehrangarh Fort Museum in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, has a gallery of royal howdahs.
Today, howdahs are used mainly for tourist or commercial purposes in South East Asia and are the subject of controversy as animal rights groups and organizations, such as Millennium Elephant Foundation, openly criticize their use, citing evidence that howdahs can cause permanent damage to an elephant's spine, lungs, and other organs and can significantly shorten the animal's life.[1]
^"n.Howdah not to do it- MEF Lift the Covers!". Millennium Elephant Foundation. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
A howdah, or houdah (Hindi: हौदा, romanized: haudā), derived from the Arabic هودج (hawdaj), which means "bed carried by a camel", also known as hathi howdah...
The howdah pistol was a large-calibre handgun, often with two or four barrels, used in Africa and India from the beginning of the nineteenth century and...
The Golden Howdah,'ಚಿನ್ನದ ಅಂಬಾರಿ'(elephant seat or Chinnada Ambari in Kannada) is a howdah, the carrier mounted on the leading elephant during the Jamboo...
lead elephant carries the Golden Howdah (Chinnada Ambari) with the Goddess Chamundeshwari in it. The Golden Howdah weighs 750 kilograms and is made of...
The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker is a novel written by Indira Goswami in Kamrupi dialect. Book deals with different social issues of mid twentieth century...
potential real estate customers to view parcels of land from Lucy's howdah (carriage). The howdah offers unique views of Margate, Atlantic City's skyline, the...
overcome the heavy pull of the revolving striker. Sometimes classified as a howdah pistol, the Lancaster pistol enjoyed popularity with British officers in...
be members of the order. The elephant and castle design derives from the howdah, a carriage that is mounted in the back of an elephant. This type of carriage...
Enfield Mk-3". Maze, Robert J: "Howdah to High Power", p. 37. Excalibur Publications, 2002. Maze, Robert J: "Howdah to High Power" (Excalibur Publications...
on 23 December 1912, when a homemade bomb was thrown into the Viceroy's howdah as the ceremonial procession was moving through the Chandni Chowk suburb...
translated into English from her native Assamese which include The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker, Pages Stained With Blood and The Man from Chinnamasta. She...
his camel by its halter, thinking that he was a woman because he was in a howdah. But lo, it was a man. He made the camel kneel down beside him and [found...
used by Numidia, the Ptolemies and the military of Carthage did not carry howdahs or turrets in combat, perhaps owing to the physical weakness of the species...
Devgarh, 1822, showing the attack by Pratap, mounted on Chetak, on the leader of the Mughal forces, Man Singh of Amber, who is in a howdah on an elephant...
direction": A special mode of transport, such as a ceremonial barge, elephant howdah, horse-drawn carriage, or a palanquin carried on the shoulders of others...
Battle of the Camel, after the fact that Aisha directed her forces from a howdah on the back of a large camel. Aisha's forces were defeated and an estimated...
conceived, the statue would have depicted the monarch in marble riding in a howdah atop a red stone elephant; a canopy was not then included in the design...
of Cutlers, a London trade guild; an elephant carrying a castle-shaped howdah can also be seen on the arms of the City of Coventry.[citation needed] Goat...
cavalry. The Indian war elephants were heavily armoured and had castle-like howdahs on their back carrying a trio of archers and javelin men. Porus's soldiers...
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