Ancient Egyptian Ka

The Egyptians believed that a person was  born with five elements: (1) the physical body, (2) the  shadow, (3) the name, (4) the ba, and (5) the ka. The "KA" and "BA" : The most interesting belief of the Egyptians was that of the 2 life forces that they believed controlled all human beings. The "KA" as they believed was the life force responsible for animation, which is to say that as long as it's present the person remains alive. Upon death the "KA" acquires a separate existence.

It however still retains the bodies form and requires sustenance.The  ka was a kind of astral double or spiritual duplicate of  the deceased that was necessary for existence in the  next world. When a person died, the ka continued to  dwell in the body, and one reason for mummification  was to ensure the  ka a dwelling place. In case the  mummy was damaged or destroyed, many Egyptians  were buried with a ka statue. The statue was a portrait  of the deceased that the ka could recognize and was  meant to be an alternative dwelling for the ka if the  mummy was not suitable.

It was believed that a person's  ka continued to  need nourishment, so priests or family members of  the deceased visited the mortuary temple and left  food offerings. They didn’t believe the  ka actually  consumed the food but that it magically derived  benefits from the offering. Sometimes pictures of  offerings on the tomb walls replaced the actual food  offering. After the priests or family member recited  a special prayer, the  ka could derive the benefit of  either offering.

The ka represented by the hieroglyph è, a pair of  upraised arms, is in Hatshepsut’s funerary temple at  Deir el Bahri, shown created on the potter’s wheel of  the creator god Khnum. è