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Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul facts for kids

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Egyptian - Ba Bird - Walters 571472
This golden Bâ amulet from the Ptolemaic period would have been worn as an apotropaic device. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

The ancient Egyptians believed the soul was divided into five parts Ren, Ba, Ka, Sheut, and Ib.

Ib - Heart

The Egyptians believed the heart held the emotions and thoughts. Believed to be weighed on the scales of Anubis by the feather of Maat. The Ib decided what happened to you after death.

Sheut - Shadow

Believed to be the shadow of the person. The Sheut was the essence of the person and could not exist with them nor the person with the shadow.

Ren - Name

Given at birth. A person was believed to live as long as their name lasted. Egyptians often went to great lengths to keep their names talked about and had them carved into monuments and surrounded by cartouche (magical rope).

Ba - Personality

Ba is considered the spirit. Ba is believed to have a unique personality based on the person who has it. The Ba was shown as a bird that flew from the body to unite with the Ka at death.

Ka - Life Force

One of the five parts of the Egyptian idea of the soul. The Ka was thought of as the life force and left the body during death. Ka was believed to be in food and drink and was placed with the dead for offerings. Egyptian Mythology believes that at death the Ba and the Ka unite through Nehebkau before entering Duat.

Images for kids

  • Book of the Dead Fragment, ROM, 3

    Fragment from Egyptian Book of the Dead

  • Ushabti box REM RC 623 2

    An ushabti box, Ptolemaic Period. On display at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. RC 623

  • Ostrakon Ghost story Turin

    Ostrakon with the beginning of the Ghost story. Terracotta from Deir el-Medina, 19th–20th Dynasties, New Kingdom of Egypt. Found by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1905. Museo Egizio, S.6619.

  • Hatnofer's heart scarab

    This exquisite gold and green stone heart scarab belonged to Hatnofer, the mother of the prominent 18th dynasty state official Senenmut, who served under the female king and pharaoh Hatshepsut. The tomb of Ramose and Hatnofer was found intact by archaeologists at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, in Thebes. The scarab is today on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Componentes del ser humano en el Antiguo Egipto para niños

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