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{{Short description|Musical instrument}}
[[Image:Mostra Olearie - sistro 1010384.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|A ''sekhem''-style sistrum]]
{{Hiero|Sistrum|<hiero>Y8</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
A '''sistrum''' (plural: '''sistra'''; from Latin '''sistrum''',<ref>[https://www.online-latin-dictionary.com/latin-dictionary-flexion.php?lemma=SISTRUM100 Online Latin Dictionary, accessed 6 August 2025]</ref> from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|σεῖστρον}} ''seistron'' of the same meaning;<ref>[https://latinitium.com/latin-dictionaries/?t=lsn44482 Latinitium, accessed 6 August 2025]</ref> literally "that which is being shaken", from {{lang|grc|[[wikt:σείω|σείειν]]}} ''seiein'', "to shake"<ref>{{L&S|sistrum|ref}}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|sei{{=}}stron|σεῖστρον}}, {{LSJ|sei/w|σείω|ref}}.</ref><ref>{{cite OED2|sistrum}}</ref>) is a [[musical instrument]] of the [[percussion instrument|percussion]] family, a form of [[Rattle (percussion instrument)|rattle]], used most notably by the  [[ancient Egypt]]ians. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and ranging from {{convert|30|to(-)|76|cm|abbr=on}} in width. The frame supports sliding metal cross-bars, which may hold metal rings. When shaken, the small rings or loops of thin metal on its movable crossbars produce a sound that can vary from a soft clank to a loud jangling. Its name in the ancient [[Egyptian language]] was ''sekhem'' ''(sḫm)''{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} or ''sesheshet'' ''(sššt)'' because of the sound it made when it rattled.{{refn|group=nb|"In the ancient Egyptian language this instrument's name was ''sesheshet'' (sššt), an onomatopoeic word derived from the sounds of the instrument — that is, a soft jangling sound that resembles a breeze rustling/blowing through papyrus."<ref name="Tahya">{{cite web |author=Tahya |date=July 2018 |title=Rediscovering the Sistrum |url=https://tahya.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Percussive_Notes_reprint.pdf |access-date=26 July 2023 |website=tahya.com}}</ref>}} The ancient Egyptian sistrum had important associations with religious and ritualistic practices concerning various musical and joyful deities.<ref name="Tahya" />

A ''sekhem'' is the simpler, hoop-like sistrum,{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} while a ''sesheshet'' (an [[onomatopoeic]] word) is the [[Naos (hieroglyph)|naos]]-shaped one.<ref>
Compare:{{cite book|last1=Ayad|first1=Mariam F.|date=2 June 2009|chapter=Rites and rituals: The sistrum, the ''menat''-necklace and objects sacred to Hathor|title=God's Wife, God's Servant: The God's Wife of Amun (ca.740–525 BC)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8OVvzCDyNUC|location=Abingdon|publisher=Routledge|page=37|isbn=9781134127931|access-date=21 April 2023|quote=The distinction between the two types of sistrum, ''naos'' or loop, is strictly based on shape. [...] Setting the two types of sistrum apart is the shape and composition of the top part. The loop-sistrum typically comprised an arched piece of wire to which were attached three horizontal bars. [...] The ''naos''-sistrum is so-called because its top part took the shape of a temple's sanctuary, or ''naos''. [...] In Egyptian, three words were used to refer to the sistrum: ''sekhem'', ''sesheshet'', and ''ib''. [...] A recent study by Reynders has shown that the Egyptian word ''sesheshet'' was always used in the caption texts accompanying scenes of playing the systrum, regardless of which type of sistrum was depicted in the scene. This observation led her to conclude that the word ''sesheshet'' referred to the noise made by the sistrum, while ''sekhem'', when applied to the sistrum, referred specifically to the incarnation or manifestation of the goddess [[Hathor]].}}</ref>

The English language has adopted the name ''sistrum'' to refer to modern-day [[West Africa]]n disc-[[Rattle (percussion instrument)|rattle]] instruments.<ref>[https://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?view=grid&fq=data_source%3A%22National+Museum+of+African+Art%22&fq=online_media_type%3A%22Images%22&q=sistrum&fq=online_visual_material%3Atrue Smithsonian National Museum of African Art].</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Byghan |first1=Yowann |date=12 March 2020 |title=Sacred and Mythological Animals: A Worldwide Taxonomy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoPWDwAAQBAJ |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland |page=64 |isbn=9781476638874 |access-date=21 April 2023 |quote=A ''sekhem'' (the Egyptian name) or σεῖστρον (the Greek name), now called a ''sistrum'' in West Africa, was a percussion instrument with a chiming or rattling sound [...].}}</ref>

==Egyptian sistrum==
[[Image:Egyptian - Naos-sistrum - Walters 48465 (2).jpg|thumb|150px|A ''sesheshet''-type sistrum, shaped like a  [[Naos (hieroglyph)|naos]], [[Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-sixth Dynasty]] (ca. 580–525 BCE)]]

The sistrum was a sacred instrument in ancient Egypt. Perhaps originating in the worship of the goddess [[Bat (goddess)|Bat]], it was used in dances and religious ceremonies, particularly in the worship of the goddess [[Hathor]], with the U-shape of the sistrum's handle and frame seen as resembling the face and horns of the cow goddess.<ref>{{harvp|Hart|2005|p=65}}.</ref> Another type of sistrum used during the worship of Hathor is naos-shaped: a small temple with an elaboratly adorned handle with the head of Hathor on top of it.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Duchesne-Guillemin |first=Marcelle |date=February 1981 |title=Music in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/124240.pdf |journal=World Archaeology |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=289 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1981.9979803 |jstor=124240 }}</ref> The sistrum was exclusively carried by women or musical priestesses for ritualistic practices, except for festivals when the king would use the sistrum in order to present something to Hathor.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=de Garis Davies |first=N. |date=April 1920 |title=An Alabaster Sistrum Dedicated by King Teta |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3853608 |journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=70–72 |doi=10.2307/3853608 |jstor=3853608 }}</ref> The sounds made by the percussive instrument along with the rhythm of the music was largely important for calling upon deities, the repetitive sound thought to aid in ritual healing and alter reality.<ref name="Tahya" /> The sistrum was also used outside of religious contexts for other types of music, dancing, and merrymaking until the 18th dynasty, when the use of the sistrum became increasingly more restricted, until it was only used for religious purposes.<ref name=":2" /> It also was shaken to avert the [[flooding of the Nile]] and to frighten away [[Set (mythology)|Set]].<ref>{{harvp|Plutarch|1936|loc=cap. 63}}.</ref>
[[File:Egyptian - Wall Painting- Woman Holding a Sistrum - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|211x211px|Ancient Relief of Woman Holding a Sistrum]]
Isis in her role as mother and creator was depicted holding a [[Bucket|pail]], symbolizing the flooding of the Nile, in one hand and a sistrum in the other.<ref>{{harvp|Merchant|1992|p=115}}.</ref> The goddess [[Bast (goddess)|Bast]] often is depicted holding a sistrum also, with it symbolizing her role as a goddess of dance, joy, and festivity.<ref>{{harvp|Hart|2005|p=47}}.</ref>

Sistra are still used in the [[Alexandrian Rite]] and [[Ethiopic Rite]].<ref>{{harvp|Borroff|1971|p=9}}.</ref> Besides the depiction in [[Art of Ancient Egypt|Egyptian art]] with dancing and expressions of joy, the sistrum was also mentioned in [[Ancient Egyptian literature|Egyptian literature]].<ref>''[[The Instruction of Amenemope]]'' in {{harvp|Lichtheim|2006|p=149}}.</ref> The hieroglyph for the sistrum is shown.

==Minoan sistrum==
[[Image:Clay sistrum, Archanes 2100-1900 BC, AMH, 144849.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.5|Minoan clay sistrum found in [[Archanes]], [[Crete]]]]

The ancient [[Minoan civilization|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, Crete|Agios Nikolaos]]. A sistrum is also depicted on the [[Harvester Vase]], an artifact found at the site of [[Hagia Triada]].

Minoans use of the sistrum perhaps also centered around Hathor in rituals involving fertility, entertainment aspects like music and dancing, as well as indulgence.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Borowka |first=Dawid |date=2020 |title=The Sistrum and its Mistress. Some thoughts about the usage of sistrum on Crete and its Hathoric associations |url=https://www.academia.edu/49040366 |journal=Fontes Archaeological Posnanienses |volume=56 |pages=37–53 |via=[[Academia.edu]]}}</ref> Sistrums used by ancient Minoans show overlaps with ancient Egyptian usage through their similar use during funerary contexts.<ref name=":3" /> Evidence of two bronze Minoan sistra suggests that they were created by separately molding the arch and handle, joining the two together with rivets later in the process.<ref name=":3" />

Researchers are not sure yet whether 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.<ref name= Hagios_Charalambos_excavation>Philip P. Betancourt, Costis Davaras, and Eleni Stravopodi, "[https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/uploads/media/hesperia/40205763.pdf Excavations in the Hagios Charlambos Cave: A Preliminary Report]", ''Hesperia'' 77 (2008): 539–605.</ref>

==Later use==
The {{Transliteration|am|senasel}} (sistrum) and later [[crotalus (instrument)|crotalus]] remained a liturgical instrument in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anglicanism.org/a-marian-odyssey|title=A Marian Odyssey|date=7 March 2023|author=[[James Stevens Curl|Curl, James Stevens]]|access-date=6 April 2023|work=Anglicanism.org}}</ref> throughout the centuries and is played today during the dance performed by the ''[[debtera]]'' (cantors) on important church festivals. It is also occasionally found in [[Modern Paganism|Neopagan]] worship and ritual.{{clarification needed|date=November 2023}}

The sistrum was occasionally revived in 19th century Western orchestral music, appearing most prominently in Act 1 of the opera ''[[Les Troyens]]'' (1856–1858) by the French composer [[Hector 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 [[Romani people|Romani]] song and dance, on stage at a rock concert, or to heighten a large-scale orchestral [[tutti]].

Classical composer [[Hans Werner Henze]] (1926–2012) calls for the flautist to play two sistra in his 1988 work ''[[Sonate für sechs Spieler]]'' (''Sonata for six players'').

===West Africa===
Various modern West African and Gabon rattle instruments are also called ''sistra'' (plural of ''sistrum''): the calabash sistrum, the West Africa sistrum or disc rattle (n'goso m'bara) 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.<ref>[http://www.museevirtuel.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do;jsessionid=76F6360B6B0DE6338D30DB0BB2257152?method=preview&lang=EN&id=17762 Musée virtuel Canada museevirtuel.ca/edu Calabash Sistra, Gabon]</ref>

==Gallery==
<!--<div align="center">-->
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Broken Sistrum (1890) - TIMEA.jpg|Broken Egyptian Sistrum
Image:Abu Simbel Nefartari Sistrum-2.jpg|[[Nefertari]], wife of [[Ramesses II]], holding a ''sekhem''-type sistrum
C+B-Music-Fig5-EgyptianSistrum.PNG|Egyptian Sistrum
Louvres-antiquites-egyptiennes-p1010937.jpg|Collection of sistrums at the [[Louvre]]
Egyptian - Sistrum - Walters 541207.jpg|[[Walters Art Museum]], ca. 380–250 BCE
As-Hadrian-Aegyptus-RIC 0839,As.jpg|Seated woman with sistrum on a coin issued under [[Hadrian]]
Isis Musei Capitolini MC744.jpg|Romanized Isis holding a sistrum, also from the time of Hadrian
ASC Leiden - Coutinho Collection - G 14 - Life in Ziguinchor, Senegal - PAIGC boarding school band, Ziguinchor - 1973 - Sistrum - Disc Rattle.jpg|School band player holding two disc rattles (sistra), Ziguinchor, Senegal, 1973
File:Sistro.jpg|2300–2000 BC, Anatolia (Turkey), made in copper alloy.
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Kagura suzu]] (Shinto)

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Cited literature===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Hart |first=George |year=2005 |title=The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge |location=Milton Park, UK |isbn=978-0-415-34495-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Merchant |first=Carolyn |year=1992 |title=Radical Ecology: The Search for a Livable World |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-90650-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/radicalecologyse00merc_0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Plutarch |author-link=Plutarch |year=1936 |title=Isis and Osiris |volume=V |series=Loeb Classical Library }}
* {{cite book |last=Borroff |first=Edith |year=1971 |title=Music in Europe and the United States: A History |url=https://archive.org/details/musicineuropeu00edit |url-access=registration |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn=9780136080831 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lichtheim |first=Miriam |author-link=Miriam Lichtheim |year=2006 |orig-year=1976 |series=Ancient Egyptian Literature |volume=2 |title=The New Kingdom |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-0-520-24843-4 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary | sistrum}}
{{Commons category|Sistra}}
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Sistrum.html Sistrum (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sistrum |short=x}}

{{Shaken idiophones}}
{{Greek musical instruments}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Shaken idiophones or rattles]]
[[Category:Egyptian artefact types]]
[[Category:Arabic musical instruments]]
[[Category:Ethiopian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek musical instruments]]
[[Category:Sacred musical instruments]]
[[Category:Hathor]]
[[Category:Bastet]]