Egyptian religion held that what we call the spirit or soul consisted of three distinct parts: the ka, the ba, and the akh. Egyptologists characterize the ka (represented by two upraised arms) as the individual's "vital force" or "spiritual twin." When a person was born, the god Khnum created his or her ka, modeling both body and spirit on his potter's wheel. Kings could have several kas; mere mortals had only one. During life the ka remained separate from the body. At death a person was said to have "gone to his [or her] ka." This was the Egyptian way of saying that the ka had merged with the deceased's lifeless form.

To survive, the ka needed a body for its eternal home. The Egyptians believed that the ka dwelt within either the mummy or the tomb statue (sometimes called the ka-statue), a spare body needed if the corpse should be destroyed.

The Egyptians called the second element of the soul the ba (or "animation"). It was the part of the spirit that was free to leave the tomb and travel about the earth during the day. The ba was obliged, however, to return to the tomb during the perilous hours of darkness. Artisans had several ways of showing the ba, sometimes as a bird, but most often as a human-headed bird. The ba came into being only when the ka and the dead body were united; without the ka and a mummy or ka-statue, the ba could not exist.

Adapted from Death, Burial, and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt by James F. Romano.
© 1990 The Board of Trustees, Carnegie Institute.