Also called Akhu (plural), the Blessed Dead, the Effective Spirits.
The tale
The akh was the transfigured, shining spirit a person became after death once the proper rites were done, living among the stars or in the Field of Reeds. The akhu were thought to be able to help or trouble the living, so families wrote Letters to the Dead on bowls of offerings left at the tomb, asking a dead parent or spouse for help in illness or quarrels. In one famous letter, a widower complains to his dead wife Ankhiry that she is troubling him, reminding her of how faithfully he cared for her while she lived. These letters show a deeply human relationship with the dead, part love and part negotiation.
When they are met
- anniversaries of death
- the Beautiful Festival of the Valley
- when a family is in trouble
Staying on their good side
- bread and beer, or water and bread
- flowers
- speaking their names
- a written letter
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Write a short letter to a loved one who has died, telling them your news and asking for their support.
- Say the names of your dead aloud, since Egyptians believed this kept them alive.
- Place a photograph with flowers and a glass of water on an anniversary.
- Keep a simple family tree and share its stories.
What their tales teach
- connection with ancestors
- grief and continuing bonds
- family protection
- remembering
Symbols
- the crested ibis hieroglyph
- a bowl written with a letter
- an offering table
- stars
From Old to New Kingdom tomb inscriptions and the real Letters to the Dead, now in museum collections.
More Egyptian folklore
- The Bennu The heron of the first sunrise
- Ammit The Devourer at the scales of judgement
- Apep The serpent of chaos who swallows the sun
- The Serpent of the Island The golden serpent of the phantom isle
- Djedi The hundred-and-ten-year-old magician