"This sistrum has an authentic appearance and rich volume of sound
... great for outdoor concerts and processionals."

Permit me to express my delight in this unique and marvelous musical instrument! It is surprisingly lightweight and perfectly balanced in the silky rosewood base with beautiful Hathor face and tinkling cymbals.... my compliments to those who are crafting these elegantly designed and well-made instruments....

Besides the ancient history of this instrument, I hope this current production will inspire the use of the systrum with its infinite creative potential, to be used in music again today and for future generations.

- Mimi Janislawski, PhD, San Francisco, CA

 

Tahya is a master at her art and craft of Ancient Sacred Dance Practicies,
and is responsible for unearthing the Ancient Egyptian Systrum of the priestesses and devotees of Goddess Hathor.  
Thank you for an inspiring high caliber presentation, lovely lady!

- Barbara Gail & Jeff Hanna , Professional Musicians & Purveyors, The Rhythm Inlet, FL

 

(This sistrum) is a thing of beauty... I recently used it on a National Geographic FB Live event.
It’s a treasure.”

- Kara Cooney, Egyptologist, Professor of Ancient Egyptian Art & Architecture, 
Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures, 
University of California Los Angeles
karacooney.squarespace.com

 

This is an incredible product.
Quality construction throughout.
I also love the weight and balance.
When I showed it to my wife, she immediately placed it on her altar...
Everyone who has seen it loves it.

- James Wasserman , author, editor & designer, NYC

Tahya has re-introduced the Sistrum in our modern era
with the power, beauty and dignity of the ages past. 
I feel fortunate enough to have one and to play it...
words cannot express how light, how special and divine this feels and sounds to play!
Amma Iset! 

- Auset Gypsy / James Jacob Perri , Jersey City, NJ 

The systrum polarizes and filters people with its cleansing magic. Aloha and blessings to you!   

- Sky* / internationally-acclaimed DJ SKY , Los Angeles, CA

* NOTE: Click on this link  
Hear the shimmering systrum on Sky's track "Will U Understand"

I use your systrum daily *and* was delighted to be able to incorporate it in my handfasting ceremony. Your systra deserve to be known far and wide.

Poem to Hathor:

Shh...she shimmers she sashays
through soft shade in rushes on river-shore
she shields her conscious shape
she shakes papyrus shivers
Living Sistrum to release 
herself in a rush of sound and light
that shafts into my cells and I shift my ears,
my shimmying feet 
catch her sheer breath in the fresh breeze.

- Sophie Nusslé , Granada, Spain,
See also: Goddess Hathor,
a virtual temple for devotees of Hathor
to praise and discuss Her.

I LOVE my Tahya Ceremonial Systrum!!
I highly recommend this exquisite and masterfully crafted musical instrument
to anyone who loves hand drumming, frame drums, ethnomusicology and the ancient arts!

-DZ, California

...this sistrum is fantastic! I can just imagine such a sound in the temple of Upper Egypt. Bless you ~

- George Sawa , Master of the Qanun

 
I had the good fortune to meet renowned Egyptian percussionist extraordinaire Hossam Ramzy
and I was able to present a Systrum to him when he played at the State Theatre in Easton, PA January 2016.
He was on tour with Joe Bonamassa.

 

I am ecstatic! This is the most beautiful instrument I've ever seen!
That is, to say this sistrum is one of the most sacred and beautiful gifts I've ever received is an understatement.
I do not have enough words to describe the feeling of holding it...
The craftsmanship is exceptional, the quality is superb,
and the music it creates is positively heavenly, sacred indeed!
And I was so surprised at how light it is!
Thank you for gifting the world with such sacred beauty ~ Amma Iset!            
                                 
                                                                                                                                          - Jade Scarlett , NYC                                            

The Hathor Systrum has been a wonderful instrument to add to our recording!
It adds a distinct voice that conjures images of ancient rituals and primal connections with the past.
I love how it fits into almost every track so easily!!
[Take a listen: Click here ]

- David Macejka, rhythmist, The Cu Dubh Tribe        

 

Tahya, the systra have arrived!!  I'm literally over the moon with them!
**They are even better in reality than in photos.**
The quality is excellent and the sound is amazing.
Thank you so much for taking the time to manifest these so that we can experience their wonderful sound.

- Jacqui Taliesin El Masry , UK                                            

***

The Systrum arrived (see above)... and I am thrilled that she is so light!
Also I would like to add that I was very impressed with the beautiful
customised cardboard house you have created for her - this will be usefulfor transit in the future. ...
I have been following the video and slowly coming to feel an ease
and understanding of the nuanced technique/delicacy of touch required.  
Simple yet demanding - a dichotomy!  
Let me know when (more) video is ready. From a very happy sissssster.   

                                                                                                             - Juliet Le Page,                                                                                            Melbourne, Australia  
***

I love my new systrum and play it each day to clear my personal space and energize myself.
I am so very grateful that you heeded the call of the Universe to bring back this ancient instrument
for us to use to reclaim our balance and personal power.

- Nancy Lovecchio, Monroe County, PA 

My sistrum arrived yesterday (and) I was BLOWN AWAY by it!
Not only is it beautifully made - and beautiful to look at - but the sound is fabulous.
I can tell that it was designed with ritual purpose in mind; however, of course, someone could easily use it simply as a percussion instrument ~ the sound is powerful!
It is a real bargain and I will keep it as a cherished ritual tool for the rest of my life.  

- Isidis St Claire, Beverly Hills, CA

" The Systrum is BEAUTIFUL. I'm a Reiki Master and intuitive channel. In addition to the shamanic healing tools I incorporate in my healing practice - turtle shaker, crystal bowl, hand drum . . . there is now the divine Systrum too
with a percussive CLAP energy sending out such a powerful healing wave. WOW, talk about breaking up any blocks!
... and then there's the shimmer: Sparkly energy flows out and dances around!"  

- Brent Goodman, Wisconsin

I used the systrum at my May Day gathering ~ as part of a procession of women walking between me  (with systrum in hand) and another woman on tambourine as they passed through several stages of purification.  Lovely! I want you to know the loveliness of the systrum birthed by you (and the goddesses before) is being used to honor this fertile and rich time of year and all that it carries in meaning and practice.

- Kitty Holzmer,www.creative-wellness.net, Cape May Court House, NJ

I received my Ceremonial Systrum and think having it in my house may have kept Hurricane Gustav from it's original projected path. It truly was a miracle not just for my area but the whole state of Louisiana. The hurricane was predicted to hit as a category 3 but it was downgraded at the last minute to a category 2.

- Sydney Landry, New Iberia, LA

I had a very strong experience as I opened the package affirming what I already knew – this was not the first time which
I hold a Systrum in my hands...
There is so much ancient wisdom
woven into this sacred instrument
and I thank you for bringing it back to life,
making it available
to those of us who still remember.
Thank you.

Blessings,
Hanna Rosvall, Malmö, Sweden

Here is a pic of the altar with our beautiful systrum we ordered from you. The ceremony was wonderful and we joyfully played our systrum for Lady Auset and all the guests present. It is such a blessing and honor to have on my altar at the Initiation Ceremony at the conclusion of the Priestess Training Intensive Program.

- Auset Nebet Seshen Ib , Amherst MA
Ordained & federally licensed Priestess of Isis
Member of Fellowship of Isis since 2000

***

It has always been my intent to present an instrument specifically designed to replicate the percussion instrument associated with ancient Egyptian ceremonial rituals for blessing and creating sacred space, igniting an energetic, I found, that remains omnipresent at the ancient temple sites even today!

May we create a similar sound wave igniting a positive force field of attraction, facilitating the manifestation of our dreams, bringing balance to our lives....
and may its re-emergence
a) empower hand-drumming enthusiasts who previously may have found themselves challenged to learn techniques associated with various hand drums & thus discover the joy of playing percussion ala this wonderful & historic instrument associated with rich millennia-old traditions
b) shed light on Egyptian (ancient and contemporary) culture and Goddess cults of Hathor & Isis, etc.,  and
c) re-inspire meaningful intentional ritual and creative authentic living in our daily lives... - Tahya , designer

Here is the hieroglyph for the sistrum:   The use of sistra may have originated in the practice of shaking bundles of papyrus flowers. The onomatopoeic ancient Egyptian name for the instrument is ssst ~ sesheshet ~ probably derived from the sounds the instrument makes: a soft jangle resembling a breeze blowing through papyrus reeds ~ a sound intended to placate the gods and goddesses. Designed in the shape of the ankh hieroglyph, the instrument was representative of life and renewal. Bring HERstory to your community: TAHYA reveals the mystery and mystical music-making of the Systrum™ which holds a deep history/herstory dating back thousands of years. Enjoy a presentation of ancient Egyptian Queens and Musician Chantresses/Priestesses depicted playing sistra  as well as an interactive participatory component. CLICK HERE for more details Historically, this instrument may have been made of wood with a face resembling Hathor depicted at the top of the handle. Transverse bars were set horizontally into the hoop frame with a number of metal disks or squares, which produced a tinkling sound when the instrument was shaken. Most depictions of ancient hoop sistra reveal rods fashioned in a snake-like design, echoing the symbolism of the uraeus (Greek: cobra) ever-present in Ancient Egyptian artifacts ~ e.g., pharoahs' crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. Exploration into the symbolic origins of the uraeus, the serpent goddess, leads researchers to the Old Kingdom (approx. 3,000 BCE). A Second Dynasty Pyramid Text proclaims, 'sky speaks and earth trembles' when the living 'uraeus of Re' feeds the risen King. (1) Among other descriptions (e.g., Lady of the Sycamore Tree, Mistress of the stream who makes the river rise), Hathor is known as 'Eye of Re'. She can be the Wedjat eye - the 'whole eye' - meaning the eye as a bodily function, and, as agent of the god's activity, (she is) the instrument of divine energy and power projected out into the world. Although this serpent eye frequently manifests as a wild and destructive force, she also emanates radiant beauty and attraction.(2) The Tahya Ceremonial Systrum™ resembles the sistrum held by ancient Egyptian queens ~ here for example is a depiction from the Abu Simbel tomb of Nefertari, whose name means 'Beautiful Companion'. Nefertari was wife of Ramses II (also referred to as Ramesses the Great, who was the third Egyptian pharaoh (reign: 1279 BC – 1213 BC) of the Nineteenth dynasty.

MORE HISTORY OF THE SYSTRUM (aka SISTRUM)

Depicted on many temple and tomb bas-relief carvings and wall paintings dating as far back as the Old Kingdom (from the reign of Teti, 6th Dynasty c. 2323-2291 BCE), the sistrum (pl. sistra), aka systrum, was a sacred instrument used in dances and religious ceremonies, particularly in the worship of the goddess Hathor, [pronounced Hat h'or (from ancient Egyptian hieroglyph Hwt-Hr)], the cow-eared goddess of love, joy, motherhood, music and dance.  Used by devotees of the Goddesses Hathor, Isis and other dieties in ancient Egyptian culture, the effect produced by the sistrum - when shaken in short, sharp, rhythmic pulses - was to arouse movement and activity.

Hathor, one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt, was worshiped by royalty and common people alike in whose tombs she is depicted as "Mistress of the West" welcoming the dead into the next life. In other roles she was a goddess of music, dance, foreign lands and fertility who helped women in childbirth.

The cult of Hathor pre-dates the historical period and the roots of devotion to her are, therefore, difficult to trace, though considered a development of predynastic cults who venerated fertility, and nature in general, represented by cows (thus, her "cow ears").  Isis in her role as mother and creator is also seen depicted holding a pail symbolizing the flooding of the Nile, in one hand and a sistrum in the other. The goddess Bast is also often depicted holding a sistrum, symbolizing her role as a goddess of dance, joy, and festivity.

I am the Mistress of Mirth, the Lady of Laughter, the Lady of Happiness!

I am the Joy coursing through your veins and the Blood dancing in your heart

In museums throughout the world housing artifacts from ancient Egyptian culture two basic types of sistrum are found on display; the hooped one and the naos type (click here to see photos). Both had close associations with the aforementioned cult of Hathor whose face is often depicted on the handle. Royal wives, priests and priestesses were often depicted shaking sistra in rituals and ceremonies.

Click HERE to open slide show of images depiciting the systrum throughout ancient Egyptian history
from July 2012 RCN Community Spotlight featuring Tahya, hosted by Dan Mowdy

Another example of a royal queen utilizing a sistrum lies among the treasures of Tutankhamun.  A wooden shrine was found covered in sheet gold. The right side has four scenes, all of an unusual kind. In the left of the top register the queen extends toward the king a sistrum and a necklace with an elaborate counterpoise. At the front of the counterpoise are the head and shoulders of a goddess, surmounted by cow's horns and the sun's disk and having the uraeus on her brow. Human hands project from beneath her collar, each hand holding a sign for "life" (ankh) toward the king. The identity of the goddess is revealed as the Great Enchantress in the inscription beneath the necklace. Addressing the king, the queen says:

"Adoration in peace, receive the Great Enchantress, O Ruler, beloved of Amun!"(3)

In open-air processions, the sistrum was used as rhythmical accompaniment. In ancient Egyptian culture, percussion instruments and rhythmic music were considered particularly imbued with spiritual or shamanistic power to influence and transform consciousness and therefore reality.(4)  The instrument's sound seems to have been regarded as protective and also symbolic of divine.(5) The effect produced by the sistrum was to arouse movement and activity, to clear and create sacred space, and to invoke or offer blessings.

Many temple scenes of processions of priestesses playing round and rectangular drums, sistra, cymbals and clappers, are still visible at the temple complex dedicated to Hathor at Dendera, Hatshepsut's Chapelle Rouge at Karnak and other ancient Egyptian temple sites.

THE SYSTRUM (aka SISTRUM) TODAY

Occasionally revived in 19th century Western orchestral music ~ for example, in Act 1 of the opera Les Troyens (1856–1858) by the French composer Hector Berlioz ~ use of the sistrum in the 20th century seems to slowly have been replaced by its close modern equivalent, the tambourine.

Rhythmic shaking of the sistrum, like the tambourine, is associated with religious or ecstatic events, for example shaken as a sacred rattle in the worship of Hathor of ancient Egypt.  It is also akin to the strident jangling of the tambourine in modern-day Romani song and dance.  Sistra may be used on stage at a rock concert, or to heighten a large-scale orchestral tutti (an orchestral passage in which every member of the orchestra is playing at once).

In the 21st century sistra are still used in the rites of Coptic and Ethopain churches; however, representations of the hoop-top instrument (click here to see photos) ~ with close associations to the aforementioned cult of Hathor whose face is often depicted on the handle as depicted in Egyptian art and as mentioned in Egyptian literature associated with dancing and expressions of joy ~ have been hard to find at best and quite simply unavailable.  That is why we are so very pleased to introduce you to the Tahya Ceremonial Systrum™.

* * *

Recognized among the foremost instructors of North African, Middle and Far Eastern drumming and dance traditions,
Tahya programming*
builds cultural awareness, replacing misconceptions with informed concepts
and boosting a respect for art forms steeped in antiquity.

In addition, she co-facilitates Women's Wisdom & Wellness with Helene B. Leonetti, MD.

*Visit Tahya's website for more information about her programming, including Drum & Dance events and
Egypt Beckoned ~ lecture with slide show and audience participation playing sistra!

WWW.TAHYA.COM

Order your Tahya Ceremonial Systrum™ TODAY!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

(1)Roberts, Alison, Hathor Rising: The Power of the Goddess in Ancient Egypt. Inner Traditions International, Rochester, VT, 1997, p. 8
(2) Ibid, p. 9
(3)Dunn, Jimmy. Golden Shrine
(4) Redmond, Layne ~ find more info about Layne's work by clicking on link:  Layne Redmond.com > Frame Drum history
(5) Dunn, Jimmy. Hathor's Sistrum

See also:

• The Sacred Feminine
• Hathor
• British Museum
• Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt By Anne K. Capel, Glenn Markoe
• Metropolitan Museum publications (see pg. 2)

Contact us at:  info(at)hathorsystrum(dot)com