Examine individual changes

'[[Image:Mostra Olearie - sistro 1010384.JPG|thumb|300px|A ''sekhem'' style sistrum.]] A '''sistrum''' (plural: '''sistrums''', '''sistra'''<ref name="randomhouse">{{Citation | year =1988 | editor-last= Stein | editor-first= Jess | title = The Random House College Dictionary | place =New York | publisher =Random House | edition=Revised | page=1230 | isbn =0-394-43500-1}}</ref>) is a [[musical instrument]] of the [[percussion instrument|percussion]] family, chiefly associated with ancient [[Iraq]] and [[Egypt]]. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 76 and 30&nbsp;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. The name derives from the [[Greek language|Greek]] verb ''σείω, seio'', to shake, and '''''σείστρον, seistron''''', is that which is being shaken. Its name in the ancient [[Egyptian language]] was sekhem ''(sḫm)'' and sesheshet ''(sššt).'' Sekhem is the simpler, hoop-like sistrum, while sesheshet (an [[onomatopoeic]] word) is the [[Naos (shrine)|naos]]-shaped one. ==The Egyptian sistrum== [[Image:Nefertari.JPG|thumb|[[Nefertari]] holding '''sistrum,''' from her [[Abu Simbel]] temple. She was a wife of [[Ramesses II]]]] {{Hiero|Sistrum|<hiero>Y8</hiero>|align=left|era=egypt}} The sistrum was a sacred instrument in ancient Egypt. Perhaps originating in the worship of [[Bastet]], 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>Hart, ''op.cit.'', p.65</ref> It was also shaken to avert the flooding of the [[Nile]] and to frighten away [[Set (mythology)|Set]].<ref>Plutarch, ''op.cit.'', 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>Merchant, ''op.cit.'', p.115</ref> The goddess [[Bast (goddess)|Bast]] too is often depicted holding a '''sistrum''', symbolizing her role as a goddess of dance, joy, and festivity.<ref>Hart, ''op.cit.'', p.47</ref> Sistra are still used in the rites of the [[Coptic Christianity|Coptic]] and [[Ethiopia]]n churches.<ref>Borroff, ''op.cit.'', p.9</ref> Besides the depiction in [[Art|Egyptian art]] with dancing and expressions of joy, the sistrum was also mentioned in [[Literature|Egyptian literature]].<ref>''[[The Instruction of Amenemope]]'' in Lichtheim, ''op.cit.'', p.149</ref> The hieroglyph for the sistrum is shown, but there are other varieties (sistrum and castanets). ==The sistrum today== 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 [[Evangelism]], in [[Romani people|Gypsy]] song and dance, on stage at a rock concert, or to heighten a large-scale orchestral [[tutti]]. The "[[barcoo dog]]," a sheep herding tool used in Australian [[bush band]] music, is a type of sistrum.[http://www.bushmusic.org.au/instruments.html] ==Gallery== <!--<div align="center">--> <gallery> Image:As-Hadrian-Aegyptus-RIC 0839,As.jpg|[[Hadrian]] coin, showing seated woman with Sistrum. Image:Louvres-antiquites-egyptiennes-p1010937.jpg|Collection of sistrums(sistra) at the [[Louvre]] </gallery> </div> ==References== * George Hart, ''The Routledge Dictionary Of Egyptian Gods And Goddesses'', Routledge 2005 * Carolyn Merchant, ''Radical Ecology: The Search for a Livable World'', Routledge 1992 * [[Plutarch]], ''Isis and Osiris '', Vol. V of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1936 * Edith Borroff, ''Music in Europe and the United States: A History'', Prentice-Hall 1971 * [[Miriam Lichtheim]], ''Ancient Egyptian Literature'', Vol.2, ==Footnotes== <references /> ==External links== * [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Sistrum.html Sistrum (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)] {{commonscat-inline|Sistra}} *{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=sistrum}} [[Category:Percussion instruments]] [[Category:Egyptian artefact types]] [[Category:Arabic musical instruments]] [[Category:Ethiopian musical instruments]] [[Category:Ancient Egyptian musical instruments]] [[bg:Систрум]] [[ca:Sistre]] [[cs:Sistrum]] [[de:Sistrum]] [[es:Sistro]] [[eu:Sistro]] [[fr:Sistre]] [[io:Sistro]] [[it:Sistro]] [[lt:Sistras]] [[hu:Szisztrum]] [[nl:Sistrum (muziekinstrument)]] [[oc:Sistre]] [[pl:Sistrum]] [[pt:Sistro]] [[ru:Систр]] [[sk:Sistrum]] [[fi:Sistrum]]'