Image Missing: Hearst Museum object titled Whip, accession number 3-14971, described as Braided cotton whip about 34" long. Called by the Spanish term "mecha" ("wick") in Popoluca, it is woven of 7 strands if native cotton at the time of a death. It is placed in the hand of the corpse at burial, and is believed used in the afterworld to whip dangerous animals from the path of the deceased.