BA
Ba , as an aspectof the soul,was rep resentedby
a human-headedbird in ancientKemet.The Ba
speaks to the oneness and ha rmonywith nature
tha t is suc h a centralthemein Afric an co smo l-
og y. In the ancientKemeticscienceof the soul ,
the Ba is the aspectof a personthat represen ts
the “s oul of breath” dwelling wit hin eachhuman
being. The Ba is oft en dep ict ed as a bearded
man,wit h the headof a ha wk representing it s
simultaneous physical and sp iri tual/ transcendental
na ture.It is this elementof a person’s be ing that
represents the “wo rld soul”tha t per meatesthe
un iverse,exist ing wi th in humankind and in the
essenceof all things.
The Ba is the cor porealelem ent of the soul that
represents the interconnected nature of all cre -
ations.Th e conceptof the Ba speaksto eachper -
son’sinnat e powerbe causethe Ba is representa tive
of a person’sconnectionwiththe cr eator(Ptah).
Naturallyendowedwiththe creator’sess ence,the
Ba allowsthe personto experienceall otherele -
mentsof the universebe causetheyare all com -
posedof a commoncreativesubstance.
The Ba can be lit eral ly tran slate d as “to come
ali ve” or “spiritual manifestation.” TheBa is
essentiallya person’s“breathof life,”an invisi-
bl e source of en ergy.As the brea th of lif e, the Ba
is a person’svi talforce, the activatinglife force
of the ir being.A pers on’s Ka, uni ted wi th thei r
Ba , formsthe nonphysicalqual ities of a person,
th eir uniquecharacter/personality, andmo ral
co nscie nce.The Ba is capable of changin g its
fo rm at will;in fact,the bodyof the Ba is rep re -
sen ted by the bodyof a haw k to symbolizethe
Ba’s mobilityor abilityto movebetweenEarth
an d the heavens,the vi sibl e and invisible, and its
ab il ity to transmigratebetween the realmsof th e
ph ysicaland the sp irit ual.
Althoughthe Ba is a person’s Earthl y vital fo rc e,
at the time of dea th, the Ba is believedto leavethe
bodythro ugh the di schargesof the fl esh and re turn
to the spiritwor ld to meetAtumwhilethe bod y
remainsbehind.The Ba is bel ievedto retu rn to
Ear th inh abitinganotherbody(Ka).A per so n’s Ba
is also said to returnto visit its fami ly, fr iend s, and
its Ka. The Ba is responsible for protectingthe
bodyof the deceased. It is also the Ba that su pp lie s
the Ka withair and foodwhenthe bod y is in its
tomb.In fact , manyKemetictombswer e built with
narrowpassagesthat were desi gnedto allowthe
Ba to leavethe deceasedperson’s ph ysicalbod y
and the tomb.The Ba is beli eved to be trans mitted
fro m the ancestors to theirdescendents.
The Ba is a pr incipleelementof the sou l that the
peopleof ancientKemetbeli evedto be ind estr uc -
tibl e, eternal,and omni present.It is that elem ent of
bei ng that alwaysremainsdivine and im mo rtal.
It is oftendepictedleavi ng or returningto its bod y,
hoveringover the body , and carryingin its clawsa
shenring , whichrepresentseternity. It was also
bel ievedthat Godexistson Earthin th e for m of
the Ba. Ins tancesin whi ch a di vine aspe ct of God
is manifested in any naturalphenomenacan be85