Object Description and Materials
The sistrum is a sacred rattle instrument used in ancient Egyptian temple worship, particularly in the cult of the goddess Hathor. This distinctive percussion instrument produces a characteristic jingling sound when shaken, created by metal discs or loops rattling against crossbars within a U-shaped or hoop-shaped frame mounted on a handle.
Two main types of sistrum existed in ancient Egypt. The sekhem or iba sistrum featured a naos (shrine-shaped) frame, while the sesheshet sistrum employed an arch or hoop shape topped with a representation of Hathor or a naos. Both types produced similar sounds but carried different iconographic associations. The naos form emphasized the temple connection, while the arch form highlighted Hathor's bovine aspects.
Sistra were typically crafted from bronze, though examples in faience, wood, and precious metals also exist. The frame contained horizontal crossbars through which small metal discs or loops passed loosely. When the instrument was shaken, these loose elements struck the crossbars and frame, producing the characteristic rattling sound. The handle provided grip for the performer and often featured decorative elements.
The Hathor head appearing on many sistra depicted the goddess with cow ears, her standard iconography. This head might crown the handle or appear at the junction of handle and frame. Sometimes twin Hathor faces looked in opposite directions. These decorations reinforced the sistrum's association with Hathor worship while adding aesthetic refinement.
Size varied from small handheld instruments approximately 20-40 centimeters (8-16 inches) in length to larger ceremonial examples. Temple inventories suggest different sizes served different functions, with smaller sistra for general use and larger ones for special ceremonies. The weight and balance of the instrument affected its sound and ease of playing.
Origin and Creation Story
The sistrum's origins reach back to the earliest periods of Egyptian civilization, with representations appearing in Old Kingdom art and actual examples surviving from the Middle Kingdom onward. Its association with Hathor, a goddess whose worship predates the unified Egyptian state, suggests the instrument may be among the oldest in Egyptian ritual practice.
According to Egyptian tradition, the sistrum was sacred to Hathor, who was sometimes called "Lady of the Sistrum." The instrument's sound was believed to please the goddess and invoke her presence. Hathor's temples, particularly at Dendera, featured extensive sistrum imagery and housed actual instruments used in her worship.
The mythology connecting sistra to divine service emphasized their power to affect the gods. The sound was believed to calm the fury of certain deities, particularly Set and other dangerous powers. By shaking the sistrum, priests and priestesses could modulate divine mood, turning wrath to benevolence and danger to protection.
The transition from Hathor worship to Isis worship in later Egyptian and Greco-Roman periods transferred the sistrum's associations. Isis absorbed many of Hathor's characteristics, including the sistrum as her signature instrument. As Isis worship spread throughout the Mediterranean world, the sistrum became internationally recognized as the goddess's symbol.
Greek and Roman observers were fascinated by the sistrum and recorded their observations. These accounts, while sometimes misunderstanding Egyptian theology, preserved information about sistrum use and meaning. The instrument's distinctive sound and appearance made it immediately identifiable as an Egyptian religious object.
Ritual Uses and Practices
Temple ceremonies featured sistra prominently, with priests, priestesses, and specially designated musicians shaking the instruments during rituals. The sound accompanied hymns, processions, and offerings, creating an auditory atmosphere considered pleasing to the gods. Multiple sistra played together produced a rich, shimmering sound that filled sacred spaces.
The daily temple ritual, during which the deity's cult image was tended, involved sistrum playing at key moments. As the shrine doors opened, as incense was offered, as the deity was clothed and fed, sistrum sounds punctuated and accompanied these sacred actions. The rattle's voice became part of worship's essential vocabulary.
Festival processions employed sistra extensively. When the goddess's statue left the temple for public celebration, sistrum-players surrounded and preceded her. The sound announced divine presence and created a protective sonic envelope around the sacred image. Festival participants might shake their own sistra as acts of devotion.
The sistrum served apotropaic (evil-averting) functions. Its sound was believed to drive away malevolent spirits, snakes, and other dangers. Shaking a sistrum created a protective zone, making the instrument valuable not only in temple contexts but potentially in any situation requiring supernatural protection.
Women played sistra more frequently than men, though both sexes appear in sistrum-playing scenes. This association connected the instrument to feminine ritual roles, particularly in Hathor worship where women served as musicians and dancers. The "singers of Hathor" and "dancers of Hathor" wielded sistra as tools of their sacred office.
The Isis cult in Greco-Roman times employed sistra in ceremonies throughout the Mediterranean world. Initiation rituals, daily observances, and the dramatic festival of the Navigium Isidis all featured sistrum playing. The instrument became so identified with Isis worship that possessing a sistrum marked one as an Isis devotee.
Symbolism and Meaning
The sistrum symbolized divine presence and the power to invoke it. Its sound called the goddess, making her present and attentive. This ability to summon divine attention placed the sistrum among the most potent tools of Egyptian religion, capable of bridging the gap between human worshippers and transcendent deities.
The jingling sound was interpreted as cosmic harmony. Some ancient explanations associated the sistrum's rattle with the sound of creation, the divine speech that brought the world into being. Playing the sistrum thus participated in ongoing creative activity, maintaining the ordered cosmos against chaos.
Hathor's association with the sistrum connected the instrument to themes of joy, fertility, and maternal nurturing. Hathor was goddess of love, music, dance, and celebration; her instrument embodied these positive qualities. The sistrum's sound expressed joy that the goddess was present and receptive to worship.
The sistrum's loop or naos shape carried symbolic weight. The naos form reproduced the shrine housing the divine image, suggesting the sistrum itself as a portable temple. The arch form sometimes included the face of Hathor, making the instrument a three-dimensional representation of the goddess herself.
The metal discs or loops represented different concepts in various interpretations: the planets, elements, or cosmic forces held in balance. Whatever the specific interpretation, the mobile parts suggested dynamism contained within structure, activity within stability. The sistrum embodied controlled divine energy.
As Isis absorbed the sistrum's associations, it came to symbolize her mysteries and the knowledge revealed to initiates. Isis worship emphasized salvation and afterlife hope; the sistrum represented the joyful worship through which these benefits were obtained. Shaking the sistrum affirmed hope and participated in salvific cult.
Associated Deities and Figures
Hathor, the cow goddess of love, music, and fertility, was the sistrum's original and primary divine association. Called "Lady of the Sistrum" and "Lady of Music," Hathor received worship accompanied by sistrum sound. Her temples featured sistrum decorations, and her priestesses wielded the instruments as badges of their sacred office.
Isis, the great goddess of magic and devotion, inherited Hathor's sistrum associations during the Late Period and Greco-Roman era. As Isis worship spread internationally, she became the goddess most commonly depicted with sistrum. The instrument became her identifying attribute in art throughout the Mediterranean world.
Bastet, the cat goddess, also received sistrum-accompanied worship. Her festivals at Bubastis featured extensive music and celebration. The sistrum's apotropaic qualities aligned with Bastet's protective functions. Her temples and ceremonies incorporated the rattling instruments alongside other musical elements.
Mut, the mother goddess and consort of Amun at Thebes, received sistrum honors in her cult. The instrument's associations with femininity, nurturing, and divine presence suited worship of this powerful goddess. Mut's priestesses played sistra in her service.
Priestesses of these goddesses, often organized into musical troupes or choirs, were the primary sistrum performers. These women underwent training, held defined roles in temple hierarchy, and played essential parts in ceremonies. Their skill with sistra was a sacred art maintaining proper worship.
Pharaohs are depicted shaking sistra before deities, demonstrating royal participation in worship. These scenes show kings performing priestly functions, establishing their role as mediators between gods and people. The pharaoh's sistrum-shaking affirmed cosmic maintenance as a royal responsibility.
Historical Accounts and Records
The sistrum appears in Egyptian art from the Old Kingdom (c. 2686-2181 BCE), with Hathor-associated imagery suggesting its established sacred status by that period. These early representations show the essential form that would persist for millennia, though details evolved over time.
Archaeological finds provide physical evidence of sistra from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055-1650 BCE) onward. Bronze examples survive in varying states of preservation, allowing study of construction techniques, sound production, and iconographic details. Museum collections worldwide hold significant sistrum examples.
Temple reliefs at Dendera, Philae, Edfu, and other sites depict sistrum use in ritual contexts. These images show multiple performers, processions, and divine offerings accompanied by sistrum playing. The reliefs document both the instruments' forms and their ceremonial functions.
Greek and Roman observers recorded their impressions of sistrum use in Egyptian and Isis worship. Plutarch's "On Isis and Osiris" explains the sistrum's meaning according to his understanding. Apuleius's "Metamorphoses" describes sistrum use in Isis processions. These accounts, though external, provide valuable perspectives.
The spread of Isis worship throughout the Roman Empire carried the sistrum far beyond Egypt. Sistra have been found at Isis temples in Italy, France, Britain, and throughout the Mediterranean. This distribution documents the instrument's internationalization during the Greco-Roman period.
The decline of Egyptian religion and the rise of Christianity ended the sistrum's primary religious function, though the instrument persisted in Coptic Christian worship with modified significance. Modern Egyptology has documented, catalogued, and analyzed surviving sistra, establishing their place in Egyptian religious history.
Modern Use and Replicas
Modern reproductions of sistra are available for ceremonial, educational, and artistic purposes. These replicas range from simple functional instruments to museum-quality reproductions of specific ancient examples. Materials include bronze, brass, and wood, following ancient precedents.
Contemporary Kemetic (Egyptian reconstructionist) practitioners employ sistra in religious ceremonies. These worshippers seek to revive ancient Egyptian religion with appropriate adaptations for modern contexts. The sistrum serves its original function of invoking divine presence and creating sacred atmosphere.
Some modern practitioners of goddess spirituality, particularly those devoted to Isis, incorporate sistra in their practice. This use combines historical interest with contemporary spiritual exploration. The sistrum's association with feminine divinity attracts practitioners in various goddess-centered traditions.
Museums displaying Egyptian collections often include sistra, with labels explaining their sacred function. Some museums offer reproductions in gift shops, allowing visitors to connect with ancient practice through tactile experience. Educational programs may include sistrum demonstrations.
Musical exploration of ancient instruments has brought scholarly attention to sistrum acoustics. Researchers have analyzed the sounds different sistra produce, seeking to understand ancient sound aesthetics. This work contributes to both Egyptology and historical musicology.
The sistrum has appeared in contemporary musical compositions seeking Egyptian or exotic sounds. While these uses differ from ancient religious function, they maintain awareness of the instrument and its distinctive voice. The sistrum's sound remains recognizable across millennia.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
- Plutarch. On Isis and Osiris. Translated by J. Gwyn Griffiths. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1970
- Apuleius. Metamorphoses (The Golden Ass). Translated by J. Arthur Hanson. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996
Secondary Sources
- Manniche, Lise. Music and Musicians in Ancient Egypt. London: British Museum Press, 1991
- Pinch, Geraldine. Votive Offerings to Hathor. Oxford: Griffith Institute, 1993
- Witt, R.E. Isis in the Ancient World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997
- Bleeker, C.J. Hathor and Thoth. Leiden: Brill, 1973
Online Resources
- British Museum: Egyptian Collection
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: Egyptian Art
- Digital Egypt for Universities
Related Across the Mythos
Egyptian Mythology
Temple Worship