Kamcha (Horsewhip)

A kamcha (Iradi: kamcha) is a short riding whip of braided rawhide with a handle of wood or horn, often decorated with silver. Carrying one marks a rider as an adult, and an ornate kamcha signals the owner's standing.^[1]

The lash is usually braided from several thongs of rawhide and ends in a flat leather tip; a loop at the handle hangs the whip from the wrist. Riders use it more as a signal than to strike the horse. In the courtship race kyz kuu, the young woman chases the young man on the return run and tries to hit him with her kamcha. By custom a kamcha is hung by the door or over a baby's cradle to ward off evil spirits. Decorated whips are made in the leather workshops of the Old Talas Citadel Quarter; see also Silver Inlaid Kamcha and Embossed Leather Kamcha.^[1][2]

References

1. ^ Talas State University Press (2015). Silver and Leather: The Saddlers of Old Talas, pp. 93–110.
2. ^ Central Asian Folklore Society (2021). Epic Cycles and Horseback Chants of the Northern Valleys. Talas State University Press, Talas, pp. 135–158.