Examine individual changes

'{{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''' or Latin '''sistra''';<ref name="randomhouse">{{Cite book | year =1988 | editor-last =Stein | editor-first =Jess | title =The Random House College Dictionary | place =New York | publisher =Random House | edition =Revised | page =[https://archive.org/details/randomhousecolle00dict_1/page/1230 1230] | isbn =0-394-43500-1 | url =https://archive.org/details/randomhousecolle00dict_1 | url-access =registration }}</ref> from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|σεῖστρον}} ''seistron'' of the same meaning; 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, chiefly associated with [[ancient Egypt]]. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and ranging {{convert|30-76|cm|abbr=on}} 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 ''(sḫm)'' and sesheshet ''(sššt)'' because of the sound it made when it rattles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=By |first=Tahya |date=July 2018 |title=Rediscovering the Sistrum |url=https://tahya.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Percussive_Notes_reprint.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=Tahya}}</ref> The sistrum, as its known in Egypt, is an instrument heavily involved with religious and ritualistic practices concerning various musical and joyful deities.'''''<ref name=":0" />''''' Sekhem is the simpler, hoop-like sistrum, while sesheshet (an [[onomatopoeic]] word) is the [[Naos (hieroglyph)|naos]]-shaped one. The modern day West African disc rattle instrument is also called a sistrum.<ref>[https://africa.si.edu/collections/view/objects/asimages/search@?t:state:flow=0822a913-f8d5-468e-ab33-2608610f411e Smithsonian National Museum of African Art https://africa.si.edu/collections, search for sistrum]</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 [[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 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> The sistrum was exclusively carried by women or musical priestesses for ritualistic practices except for festivles 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 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> The sounds made by the percussive instrument along with the rhythm of the music was largely important for its calling upon of deities, as the repetitive sound was thought to aide in ritual healing, and to alter reality.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=By |first=Tahya |date=July 2018 |title=Rediscovering the Sistrum |url=https://tahya.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Percussive_Notes_reprint.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=Tahya}}</ref> The sistrum was also used outside of a religious context for other music, dancing, and merry-making 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> 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.<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|150px|Minoan clay sistrum found in [[Archanes]], [[Crete]]]] The ancient [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]]s 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 also centered around Hathor in a 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/The_Sistrum_and_its_Mistress_Some_thoughts_about_the_usage_of_sistrum_on_Crete_and_its_Hathoric_associations |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 seperately molding the arch and handle, joining the two together with rivets later in the process.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<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 {{transl|am|senasel}} (sistrum) and later [[Crotalus (liturgy)|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. 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> ==Footnotes== {{Reflist|24em}} ===References=== {{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== * [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Sistrum.html Sistrum (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)] *{{Commons category-inline|Sistra}} *{{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]]'