The flagellum (nekhakha), held in the king's right hand, kept roughly to the shape it has on the Narmer Palette throughout Egyptian history.
It resembles a fly swat, but can be differentiated by the squarish join above the handle from which the three strings of flattened cones, cylindrical balls and drop-shaped objects hang. Although shown held by other gods too, for example Min, the flagellum is particularly associated with Osiris. He was apparently given it by Anedjti, the divine power (and symbol) of the ninth Lower Egyptian nome.
As the symbol of Osiris, the flagellum was eventually assigned to every deceased person. The meaning of the object is unclear. According to tradition, it is a herdsman's whip, but it has also been explained as a symbol of birth (it resembles the hieroglyph ms) or as an agricultural tool to gather laudanum, as is still done on Crete and Cyprus.