Europe Prior to widespread literacy, town criers were the means of communication with the people of the town since many people could not read or write. Proclamations, local bylaws, market days, advertisements, were all proclaimed by a bellman or crier. In
ancient Rome, they typically proclaimed public business during the
market days that formed a kind of
weekend every eight days. In Goslar, Germany, a crier was employed to remind the local populace not to urinate or defecate in the river the day before water was drawn for brewing beer. Bells were frequently used to attract attention, but not always – in
the Netherlands, a
gong was the instrument of choice for many, and a drum or a
hunting horn was used in
France. In the observance of
Allhallowtide, "it was customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor
souls."
Britain In order to gain the attention of the crowd, the crier would yell, "Hear ye" – "
Oyez". In
medieval England, town criers were the chief means of news communication with the townspeople, since many were
illiterate in a period before the
moveable type was invented. Royal
proclamations, local bylaws, market days, advertisements, even selling
loaves of sugar were all proclaimed by a bellman or crier throughout the centuries—at Christmas 1798, the
Chester Canal Company sold some sugar damaged in their
packet boat and this was to be advertised by the bellman. The crier also escorted the destitute to the
workhouse, installed minor criminals in the
stocks and administered
floggings. During public
hangings he read out why the person was being hanged, and helped to cut him or her down. Chester records of 1540 show fees due to the bellman included: In 1620, there was a fight at the Chester cross between the butchers and the bakers where the "Cryer brake his Mace in peeces Amonge them". In 1607, one public notice read by George Tunnall, the bellman, forbade tipping rubbish in the river. In 1715, a local man recorded that the: Salmon fishing season was also closed by the bellman. The term "Posting A Notice" comes from the act of the town crier, who having read his message to the townspeople, would attach it to the door post of the local inn. Some newspapers took the name "The Post" for this reason. Town criers were protected by law, as they sometimes brought bad news such as tax increases. Anything done by the town crier was done in the name of the ruling monarch and harming a town crier was considered to be treason. The phrase "
don't shoot the messenger" was a real command.
North America There have been town criers in North America ever since Europeans have been coming to the continent, and the First Nations peoples including the Nakota and Comanches have had the eyapaha (village crier). There are records throughout the 16th century of town criers in Mexico, Peru, and Panama. During the 1830s and 40s Halifax,
Nova Scotia had as many as four in the city. All through the American Colonies and beyond, such as Santa Fe, New Mexico; Boston, Massachusetts and Stamford, Connecticut had criers during the mid 17th century. In some places, the office of town crier persisted into the early 20th century. At least as recently as 1904,
Los Angeles and several adjacent towns had official town criers., in 1909 The town of
Provincetown, Massachusetts, has had an active Town Crier from the 1840s up to the present day.
Asia India In many parts of India, the village crier traditionally carried a rustic drum to call public attention, following up with the message.
Nepal In Nepal, the town crier is called a
katuwal which derives from local Tibetic,
kat 'voice' + an Indic suffix
-wal 'kind of a person
Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, traditionally criers would carry a
specific drum to call public attention (called tom-tom beating), following up with the message. The practice dates back from ancient times as it was used by Sri Lankan kingdoms through the colonial period up on to the modern times and was known as
Ana Bera (Announcement drum beating). The practice was used by municipal or village councils until the late ninetieth century when the practice was replaced by modern communication mediums. The use of a tom-tom beating announcer is still defined in legal statutes for situations for public notification in situations such as partition of lands. It is however not practiced.
Africa Town criers were prominent in the precolonial and colonial eras of
Igboland, a West African region in the present-day
Nigeria. They served as the major means of information dissemination in their respective communities. ==Modern town criers==