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.
Donor:
George M. Foster
Collection place:
Soteapan, Veracruz, Mexico
Collector:
George M. Foster and Mary LeCron Foster
Collection date:
Spring 1941
Materials:
Cotton (textile)
Object type:
archaeology
Object class:
Whips (striking tools)
Accession date:
December 8, 1955
Department:
Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean area
Dimensions:
length 34 inches
Loans:
S1957-1958 #4: Department of Anthropology (UC Berkeley)/George M. Foster (April 21, 1958–April 24, 1958) and S1966-1967 #2: Upward Bound/Lawrence Crouchett (July 14, 1966–July 14, 1966)