Why Were Ba And Ka Powerful Elements Of Soul In Ancient Egyptian Beliefs?

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com - In Egyptian beliefs, the soul had three parts: the Ka, the Ba, and the Akh.  These three spiritual elements found refuge in the body. Therefore, it was vital to keep the body intact after death and to equip it with the necessary items for life.

The Ba was a spiritual aspect of an individual, usually depicted as a bird with a human head, and, in this form, the Ba of a deceased person could move through the underworld and revisit the earth by day.

So, the Ba-bird represented the ancient Egyptian concept of the soul. The Ba was power, and just as the gods had power (which they could multiply at will), the people also had their Ba.

In the beginning, during the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-2181 BC), the Ba was only attributed to the god-king. It was expressed with the sign of the 'jabiru-bird.' The situation changed during the First Intermediate period (2181-2040 BC) and the Middle Kingdom.

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See also: 

Aaru – Field Of Reeds: Kingdom Of Osiris Was The Ancient Egyptian Paradise

Never-Ending Battles Between God Ra And Indestructible Apophis In Ancient Egyptian Beliefs

Pyramid Texts Of Ancient Egypt That Charted Journey Of Pharaohs Into Afterlife

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