Also called the double, the life force.
Their story
The ka was the vital force of a person, passed down from parents and ancestors, and was said to be formed with the body by Khnum on his wheel. It needed food and drink after death, which is why tombs had false doors and offering tables and why stelae carry the offering formula, a gift that the king gives, for the ka of the deceased. To die was to go to one's ka. The hieroglyph for ka is a pair of raised arms, as if in embrace.
Best times to give to them
- the Wag festival
- Beautiful Festival of the Valley
- mealtimes
What they like being given
- bread
- water
- beer or a non-alcoholic drink
- the smell of cooked food
How to honour them
- Set aside a little food and water for ancestors, as the offering formula asked of every passer-by.
- Say the names of the dead aloud when you make an offering.
How they can help you
- honouring ancestors
- feeling nourished
- continuity between generations
Symbols
- two raised arms
- ka statue
- false door
The ka is a concept rather than a deity, included here to help explain Egyptian practice.
Sources
- Offering formula (hetep di nesu) on tomb stelae
- Pyramid Texts
- 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 Ba The part of the self that moves freely
- 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