A sistrum is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient Egypt. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 30 and 76 cm in width. When shaken, the small rings or loops of thin metal on its movable crossbars produce a sound that can be from a soft clank to a loud jangling. Its name in the ancient Egyptian language was sekhem and sesheshet . Sekhem is the simpler, hoop-like sistrum, while sesheshet is the naos-shaped one. The modern dayWest African disc rattle instrument is also called a sistrum.
The sistrum was a sacred instrument in ancient Egypt. Perhaps originating in the worship of Bat, it was used in dances and religious ceremonies, particularly in the worship of the goddessHathor, with the U-shape of the sistrum's handle and frame seen as resembling the face and horns of the cow goddess. It also was shaken to avert the flooding of the Nile and to frighten awaySet. Isis in her role as mother and creator was depicted holding a pail, symbolizing the flooding of the Nile, in one hand and a sistrum in the other. The goddessBast often is depicted holding a sistrum also, with it symbolizing her role as a goddess of dance, joy, and festivity. Sistra are still used in the Alexandrian Rite and Ethiopic Rite. Besides the depiction in Egyptian art with dancing and expressions of joy, the sistrum was also mentioned in Egyptian literature. The hieroglyph for the sistrum is shown.
The ancient Minoans also used the sistrum, and a number of examples made of local clay have been found on the island of Crete. Five of these are displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos. A sistrum is also depicted on the Harvester Vase, an artifact found at the site of Agia Triada. Researchers are not sure yet if the clay sistra were actual instruments that were used to provide music, or instead were models with only symbolic significance. But, experiments with a ceramic replica show that a satisfactory clacking sound is produced by such a design in clay, so a use in rituals is probably to be preferred.
The sistrum today
The sistrum has remained a liturgical instrument in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church throughout the centuries and is played during the dance performed by the debtera on important church festivals. It is also occasionally found in Neopagan worship & ritual. The sistrum was occasionally revived in nineteenth century Western orchestral music, appearing most prominently in Act 1 of the opera Les Troyens by the French composerHector Berlioz. Nowadays, however, it is replaced by its close modern equivalent, the tambourine. The effect produced by the sistrum in music – when shaken in short, sharp, rhythmic pulses – is to arouse movement and activity. The rhythmical shaking of the sistrum, like the tambourine, is associated with religious or ecstatic events, whether shaken as a sacred rattle in the worship of Hathor of ancient Egypt, or, in the strident jangling of the tambourine in modern-day Evangelicalism, in Romanisong and dance, on stage at a rock concert, or to heighten a large-scale orchestral tutti.
Various modern West African and Gabon rattle instruments are also called sistra : the calabash sistrum, the West Africa sistrum or disc rattle also called Wasamba or Wassahouba rattle. It typically consists of a V-shaped branch with some or many concave calabash discs attached, which can be decorated.
