Looks like a twist on the grandmothers' fan thing -
Reminds me of those old-fashioned card-stock fans-on-sticks that churches used to hand out in the un-airconditioned facilities in the olden days ... especially at funerals (courtesy of the local mortician) and at weddings -- times when churches were packed and the air was hot and humid and people were under a lot of stress.....
I may be mis-remembering my childhood - or maybe it was just a Southern Thing ... ???