BA

BA. - The name that the ancient Egyptians gave to the soul understood as the capacity to survive by assuming different forms, and which in the plural (b 3. iv) means “power.” The sign by which it was graphically expressed represents, according to some, the eiconia nigra, according to others the scopus umbretta. According to the Egyptians, at the death of the individual the soul did not depart completely from the body, but re-entered it at will. Especially at night the soul rested upon the corpse: it is represented in the form of a bird spreading its wings, sometimes with the face of a bearded man. The idea that the ancient Egyptians believed in the transmigration of souls, like the Indians, is not attested. According to the Egyptians, after death souls could, at their pleasure and only temporarily, assume the appearance of an animal or a plant. Significant is the fact that the divinities too possessed one or more b., and that the term was sometimes used as a synonym for god.