War and Military Atlas

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Sjambok

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The sjambok, also called litupa, is a heavy leather whip that originated in the Dutch Cape Colony, in what is now South Africa. It was traditionally cut and shaped from the hide of an adult hippopotamus or rhinoceros into a tapered, flexible length of 90 to 150 centimeters, though modern versions are also made of plastic. Beyond its use for herding livestock, the sjambok has served as an implement of corporal punishment and as a weapon, including by colonial and apartheid-era police and security forces.

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