Through the Sands of Time
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Yu-Gi-Oh › Yaoi - Male/Male
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Adult +
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8
Views:
1,740
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Category:
Yu-Gi-Oh › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
8
Views:
1,740
Reviews:
2
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Author's Notes: Kemetic Religion
Understanding the Kemetic (Egyptian) concept of religion and the soul is damn confusing. It is highly intricate and complex. The Egyptians referred to their Gods and Goddesses as “Netjer” which is a Kemetic word meaning 'divine power.' The Ancient Egyptians revered the Netjer as Gods and Goddesses in a very complex polytheism. For instance, Sekhmet has 2,000 praise names and varying aspects that are all uniquely HERS. Yet she is also known as the Eye of Ra and her hand is Ma'at. This may seem to suggest monolathy (which is what most Kementic reconstructionists believe), but the Ancient Egyptians themselves, though they may call the Gods by parts of another, revered them separately and as a God/dess in truth distinct from the others.
If you're not already horribly confused, things are about to get worse. To the Ancient Egyptians the soul, was comprised of numerous parts. There was the physical form plus eight immortal or semi-divine parts that survived death. Thus 9 parts total made a 'human'.
Khat (or Kha)- this was the physical form. The body that could/would decay after death. This was the mortal and outward part of the human body that could only be preserved via mummification.
Ka- This is the “double” that lingered on in the tomb inhabiting the body or even statues of the deceased. It was independent of the body and could move about, eat and drink at will. In addition to this, the Ka, had parts. Generally separated into a higher Ka and a lower Ka. The higher Ka was something like a Guardian Angel type thing. It was the Ka in contact with the divine. The lower Ka was comprised more of knowledge gained on earth. (In addition to this, I'm throwing this out as well. There is also a bit more contestation here on the Ka, some scholars think it may have had more than just two parts, that you could very easily have a “ka” for every major phase of your life. Confusing, isn't it?)
Ba- The Ba was a human headed bird that flew around the tomb during the day bringing air and food to the deceased, and at night joined Ra on the Solar Barque.
Khaibit- This was the shadow of a man. It could partake of funerary offerings and was able to detach itself from the body and travel at will, though it always was thought to stay near the Ba. (So how does this really differ from the Ka? I wish I knew -_- BUT I do know that eventually (if the person passed the test of the feather of truth on Ma'at's scale, that the Ka and Ba were united together and they become the Akhu. The Khaibit remained separate even after the union.)
Akhu (or Akh, Khu, Ikhu)- This was the immortal part of a human which manifested as a radiant and shining being that lived on in the Sahu: the intellect, will, and intentions of the deceased that transfigured death and ascended to the heavens to live with the gods or the imperishable stars.
Sahu- The Sahu is the incorruptible spiritual body of man that could dwell in the heavens, appearing from the physical body after the judgment of the dead was passed (if successful) with all of the mental and spiritual abilities of a living body.
Sekhem- (note this is also a name of a healing art) This was the incorporeal personification of the life force of man, which lived in heaven with the Akhu, after death.
Yb (or Ib , Ab)- This is the 'spiritual' heart (not to be confused with the physical heart). This was the source of good and evil within a person, the moral awareness and center of thought that could leave the body at will and live with the gods after death. Or would be eaten by Ammut as the final death if it failed to weigh equally against Ma'at.
Ren- This is the true name, a vital part to man on his journey through life and the afterlife. This was a magical part that could destroy a man if his name was obliterated or could give someone else power over the man if they knew his Ren. Naming ceremonies in Egypt were secret, and a child would live his whole life with a nickname to avoid anyone from learning his true name.
So if you're anything like me, your head is now spinning. Don't feel bad. It is very complicated, and sometimes the intricacies between parts are so subtle that we just don't get it outside of having been raised in that culture.
You're probably thinking, but wait a minute, it's like they're living multiple afterlives. Well that's it exactly, they are. Their various parts are all living out different afterlives. The Ka could even inhabit other things such as plants, animals, stones or water. It is the Ka that was able to manifest itself in the form of a ghost. Usually it manifested as a ghost to express displeasure to bad offerings or slights against it. (Now I think to apply this to Yugioh, the Ka of the Pharaoh is what remained behind in the Millennium Puzzle.)
Due to the intricate nature of the Egyptian belief system pertaining to the dead and the afterlife, the Egyptians were very concerned that their names, bodies, or images would not be destroyed. Although there are no guarantees of an afterlife, the destruction of any or all of these made prospects of an after mor more uncertain for them, for it could in potential destroy their soul and the multiple parts of their being in the process. This is why (for those with a passing familiarity of the story of Moses from the Bible) striking Moses' name from the record (even if it was not his true Ren) was indeed a great punishment. There are instances throughout Ancient Egypt of the faces being destroyed from great statues of Pharaohs and other great men and women, such as: the betraying apostate Akhenaten, and Hatshepsut's name and statues were erased by her own successor. This is part of the reason why the burial places of the dead, especially the Pharaohs, were so elaborate and well hidden.
Many of the funerary rites, as well as hymns and invocations to the Gods can be found in the Egyptian 'Book of the Dead,' which can be found online translated into ish ish here: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~drokk/BoD/toc.html. However, I recommend the translation that can be found in 'Awakening Osiris' by Normandi Ellis.