Ethiopia
Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Metal
Late 19th-Early 20th Century
Length: 10 inches
Idiophone – Struck Indirectly – Shaken -Rattle

The Ethiopian “sistrum” called sanāṣel (tsanatsel) are jingling metal disks threaded on two rods.  Through the centuries, the sistrum remains a liturgical instrument in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and is played during the dance and singing performed by the debtera (cantors) at important church festivals and by clerics and the congregation during the services and processions of the Ethiopian Orthodox church.  This sanāṣel has an inscription engraved on the sides.