seshnu:

Ba Bird

According to the ancient Egyptians, people were composed of many different parts besides their physical body which when combined, formed the individual:

Ren: The name. According to Egyptian belief, the name ensured and in many ways equalled existence. As long as a person’s name was preserved and spoken, the person would continue to exist.

Sehwat: The shadow. The Egyptians believed that the shadow contained a part of the individual, since it was always present and visible. It was often connected to the ba and the two parts were sometimes said to travel together. It was a very important component because of its relation to light and the sun and it was also associated with protection.

Ka: The “life-force” that made the body move and marked the difference between being alive and dead. It is also described as the “double”, a twin-like aspect. It was present both in life and death. After death, it was present inside the mummy or representations of the deceased and depended on sustinance through offerings and depictions or models of food placed inside the tomb. It was also believed to be the part of the body connected to ancestors and inheritance.

Ba: The “personality” or the more individual aspect of a person. It was present both in life and death and was the travelling part of the spirit. When a person was asleep, the ba could travel freely (both in this world and the next) and see things, which the person then experienced as dreams (this is also sometimes connected to the sehwat). After death, the ba continued to travel, but had to return to the mummified body to rest and to reunite with the ka.

Akh: The result of a unification of the ka and the ba. It was only present after death and was the manifestation of a successful transition to the afterlife. Only those who had recieved a proper funeral with all the right rituals and had lived a life in agreement with maat could hope to reach this state after death.