What is "rebenque"

Rebenque is the shared name in South American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese for a type of whip used by gauchos in South America.

The word derives from the French raban, Dutch ra-band, from ra 'yard-beam' + band. Originally it was the rope that ties the sail to the yard, but soon came to mean a whip made of leather or tarred hemp, used to punish sailors (compare rope's end).

Especially in Argentina, it is the traditional riding, fighting, and punishing whip of the gaucho (the Argentine, Uruguayan and Southern Brazilean cowboy). It consists of a rawhide wrapped wooden handle about long with a thong made of a wide rawhide strap a little longer than the handle. The handle is topped by a knob, and have a wrist strap. It can be embellished with gold and silver.