, c. 1900 Made from
wood, the particular style and manner of noise-making varies between different clappers. Some use an integral hammer that strikes the wood, while others use a
piece of wood that rides over a gear to make a clicking noise. Historian
James Stevens Curl considered the crotalus a descendant of the
sistrum, an
ancient Egyptian ritual instrument. Historically, the crotalus was common in
Maundy Thursday Ethiopic liturgies. The
Memoriale Rituum, a former
Roman Rite liturgical book for
parochial usage in certain times of the
liturgical calendar, prescribed that the
altar bells would not be rung after being used to announce the
Gloria at
Mass on Maundy Thursday until the
Easter Vigil on
Holy Saturday, a practice which remains in some use. The
Memoriale Rituum prescribed that the crotalus replaced bells for announcing the
Angelus following both the Mass and the
Stripping of the Altar. Ritual books do not prescribe the crotalus's use in other instances where the bells would have been rung, but rattling the crotalus in the stead of each bell ring has been accepted as appropriate practice during the Paschal Triduum liturgies. Among these are the
elevations during the
Mass of the Lord's Supper, where the unpleasant noise made by the crotalus reflects the morose character of the Paschal Triduum.
Sephardi Jews immigrating to
Spanish imperial holdings in the
Americas following their
1492 expulsion from Spain would bring ceremonial objects with them. Among these were
gragers for celebrating
Purim, which could pass as the
matracha of Catholic usage. In
Rome, the instrument sometimes appears similar to
baby rattles. The crotalus is used during the
Austrian
Holy Week tradition of Ratcheting (), wherein children will alternate between ratcheting and chanting, with a reward typically following. ==See also==