Kamcha (Kazakh Whip)
Braided leather whip of the Kazakhs, carried by horsemen and elders as a riding tool and badge of authority. In Kazakh folklore the kamcha carried protective power: the whip of a respected man was hung near a woman in childbirth, and its crack was said to drive off evil spirits. Skilled craftsmen braid the lash from several plaited leather cords. The handle is carved of wood or bone, often ornamented with silver, and the lash tapers from the handle to a thin tip that cracks sharply in the air when snapped. In the steppe the kamcha was as much a tool of the herd as of the saddle, used to guide