Gohei (御幣 ), onbe (御幣 ) or heisoku (幣束 ) are wooden wands, decorated with two shide (zigzagging paper streamers) used in Shinto rituals.
The streamers are usually white, although they can also be gold,
silver, or a mixture of several colors, and are often attached as
decorations to straw ropes (shimenawa) used to mark sacred precincts.
The shrine priest or maiden attendants (miko) use the gohei to bless or sanctify a person or object in various Shinto rituals.
The gohei
is used for some ceremonies, but its usual purpose is to cleanse a
sacred place in temples and to cleanse, bless, or exorcise any object
that is thought to have negative energy.
In addition to its use in purification rituals, it may be included in an Ōnusa (wooden wand with many shide), and serve as the object of veneration (shintai) in a Shinto shrine.
An Ōnusa (大幣 ) or simply nusa (幣 ) is a wooden wand used in Shinto rituals. It is decorated with many shide (zig-zagging paper streamers). When the shide are attached to a hexagonal or octagonal staff, it can be also called haraegushi (祓串 ). It is waved left and right during purification rituals.
Ōnusa are not to be confused with hataki, which look somewhat similar.
A hataki (叩き ) is a type of household cleaning tool, originating in Japan.
Consisting of durable cloth strips attached to a stick or pole, it is
used for removing dust from surfaces onto the floor, where it can be
swept or vacuumed. Similar to a feather duster, it is not to be confused with an Ōnusa.
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