In
Egyptian mythology, the
ba is the soul, represented in
art as a human-headed
bird. As the
winged, eternal part of a person, it provided an early inspiration for the image of the winged
angel.
The
Egyptians associated the
ba with the
ka, or the person's double, and the
ib, or
heart. The
ba is invisible and does not permanently leave the body upon
death, but remains with it in the
tomb, sometimes coming out at night with a lamp to roam a bit and then returning to the tomb. The body must remain intact in order for the
ba to return to it (hence the need to preserve the corpse by
embalming). The
ba is fed cakes and is cared for by the
sycamore tree
goddess.
The Egyptians left small openings in the
pyramids so that the
ba would have easy access. Small ledges inside were built for the
ba to stand upon.
The ancient Egyptians also believed that the
stars were
ba, lit by their
tomb lamps.