The gate of the year

Wooden statue of Auibra, ruler of the XIII dynasty (1760-1740 B.C.), representing the ka of the deceased, now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
The term ka (which was represented in Egyptian scripture with a stylization of two upraised arms with the hands upward) seems to derive from a root signifying “to generate”, thus it should be interpreted as a vital principle, accompanying the realization, both physical and spiritual, of the human and divine personhood. The ka is the invisible spiritual element that gives life to man and differentiates him from a corpse (Bongioanni-Tosi 1997: 13). According to some interpretations, the concept of ka was originally associated with the placenta, interpreted as the twin of the newborn, and successively it was represented as the personification of the vital principle (Redford 2001, vol.2: 215). The ka is a particle of the universal spirit, it is similar to the body, it is the ostensible “shape” of the body, its vital principle. Man, as an individual, is essentially the ba, but in order that the ba could subsist it cannot be separated from the ka, which has animated the body. Egyptian funerary cult consisted in assuring to the ba the survival, maintaining its union with the ka, that is with the immortal principle of the personality (Bongioanni-Tosi 1991: 108). While the ba is a thoroughly personal element, it is identified with the deceased himself under a particular aspect, the ka is not individualized and represents an internal force of man, a godlike element which is found in every human being (Bongioanni-Tosi 1997: 40-41).

[Image: http://i-cias.com/e.o/ka.htm]




World of the Dead

Back

Wooden statue of Auibra, ruler of the XIII dynasty (1760-1740 B.C.), representing the ka of the deceased, now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. The term ka (which was represented in Egyptian scripture with a stylization of two upraised arms with the hands upward) seems to derive from a root signifying “to generate”, thus it should be interpreted as a vital principle, accompanying the realization, both physical and spiritual, of the human and divine personhood. The ka is the invisible spiritual element that gives life to man and differentiates him from a corpse (Bongioanni-Tosi 1997: 13). According to some interpretations, the concept of ka was originally associated with the placenta, interpreted as the twin of the newborn, and successively it was represented as the personification of the vital principle (Redford 2001, vol.2: 215). The ka is a particle of the universal spirit, it is similar to the body, it is the ostensible “shape” of the body, its vital principle. Man, as an individual, is essentially the ba, but in order that the ba could subsist it cannot be separated from the ka, which has animated the body. Egyptian funerary cult consisted in assuring to the ba the survival, maintaining its union with the ka, that is with the immortal principle of the personality (Bongioanni-Tosi 1991: 108). While the ba is a thoroughly personal element, it is identified with the deceased himself under a particular aspect, the ka is not individualized and represents an internal force of man, a godlike element which is found in every human being (Bongioanni-Tosi 1997: 40-41). [Image: http://i-cias.com/e.o/ka.htm]