also: おんべい · おんべ
noun
Shinto ritual staff with paper streamers
A wooden staff with zigzag paper streamers (shide) attached, used in Shinto purification rituals. The honorific prefix 御 is part of the word.
See also: 幣
神主が御幣を振ってお祓いをした。
The Shinto priest waved the gohei to perform a purification.
幣 (nusa) is an older term for offerings to the gods, including cloth or paper streamers, while 御幣 (gohei) specifically refers to the staff with paper streamers used in Shinto rituals.
Compound of honorific prefix 御 (go) and 幣 (hei, 'offering'). The exact historical development is uncertain, but the term has been used in Shinto contexts for centuries.