Also called Ba-soul, the personality.
Their story
The ba was the part of a person that could move freely and express their individuality, often translated as soul or personality. It was drawn as a bird with a human head, flying out of the tomb by day and returning to the body by night. Book of the Dead spell 89 was meant to let the ba rejoin the mummy. In the Middle Kingdom text known as The Dispute between a Man and his Ba, a weary man argues with his ba about life and death. Gods had bas too, and a sacred animal could be called the ba of a god.
Best times to give to them
- the Wag festival
- Beautiful Festival of the Valley
- dawn
What they like being given
- water
- bread
- incense
- a lamp
How to honour them
- Leave a light and water for the dead on remembrance days, so their ba can find its way home.
- Remember that in Egyptian thought a person was made of many parts, not a single soul.
How they can help you
- remembering the dead
- understanding Egyptian ideas of the self
- grief
Symbols
- bird with a human head
- lamp
Ba is often translated as soul, but it does not match the modern idea closely.
Sources
- Book of the Dead, Spell 89
- The Dispute between a Man and his Ba (Papyrus Berlin 3024)
- Taylor, Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt
More Egyptian beings
- Imhotep Djoser's architect, later worshipped as a god
- Amenhotep son of Hapu The wise official who became a healer saint
- The Ka The life force that receives offerings
- Ib, Ren and Sheut The heart, the name and the shadow
- The Akhekh The winged griffin of the desert
- The Set Animal The mysterious beast of Set
- The Apis Bull The sacred bull of Memphis
- The Mnevis Bull The sacred bull of Heliopolis