Nagyka
Encyclopedia
The Nagyka, nagaika, or nagayka is a short, thick whip
with round cross-section used by Cossacks of Russia
, borrowed from Nogai people, hence the original name "nogaika", or "Nogai's whip". It is also called камча, kamcha from the Turkic
word "kamci" for "whip". The latter word is also used for short whips of Central Asia
n origin.
The nagyka was made out of leather strips by braiding. Some nagykas had a piece of metal at the tip of the whip.
The main purpose of a nagyka was to urge a horse. A metal piece was used for defense against wolves. According to Vladimir Dahl's "Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great Russian language", this nagayka was called volkoboy (волкобой, "wolf-killer"). It was also used as a weapon in combat when other weapons were not available. Nagaykas were never listed among the weaponry, at the same time there existed a traditional form of hunting, when the chased animal (fox, wolf, etc.) was killed by a nagyka.
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
with round cross-section used by Cossacks of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, borrowed from Nogai people, hence the original name "nogaika", or "Nogai's whip". It is also called камча, kamcha from the Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
word "kamci" for "whip". The latter word is also used for short whips of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n origin.
The nagyka was made out of leather strips by braiding. Some nagykas had a piece of metal at the tip of the whip.
The main purpose of a nagyka was to urge a horse. A metal piece was used for defense against wolves. According to Vladimir Dahl's "Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great Russian language", this nagayka was called volkoboy (волкобой, "wolf-killer"). It was also used as a weapon in combat when other weapons were not available. Nagaykas were never listed among the weaponry, at the same time there existed a traditional form of hunting, when the chased animal (fox, wolf, etc.) was killed by a nagyka.