African religions influenced by Egyptian religion

(O.J. Lucas' RELIGIONS IN WEST AFRICA AND ANCIENT EGYPT is the source of
these ideas)

The evidence for Ancient Egyptian religion powerful influence on many African religions
may be summarised under the following headings:

A. Language
B. Religious Ideas
C. Religious Practices
D. Bodily Mutilations
E. Funeral Rites
F. Knowledge
G. Social Practices
H. Names
I. Sacred Numbers
J. Dress
K. Hieroglyphics and Emblems

LANGUAGE
The structure of the Egyptain language and some West African languages such as Yoruba
are similiar. Through similarity of root words, combinations of root words to form
compound words, and a single word used for a variety of meanings, all these are used to
show commonality with the Egyptian ancient language.
West African words derived from Ancient Egyptian are numerous; if these are withdrawn
from the languages, only an unintelligible framework will be left.

Also reference may be made to the term Orisa, Orise, as Lisa, Leza, Arusi, Aruosa or
Alusi, the use of which is widespread West Africa and in East Africa as the name of the
Supreme Deity or diety or an idol. The word is derived from Horu-sa-Ast, The following
passage written by Lord Raglan and dealing with the diffusion of religious illustrates what
we mean:
We find in most parts of the world religious terms with a wide distribution Such are `god'
and its related forms in Northern Europe, Semitic-speaking lands, `jok' in Central Africa,
`atua' in Polynesia. There are a great many other words which have a religious connatation
and which in the same or similar forms cover hundreds or even thousands of miles. Since it
cannot be an instinct which causes some people to call a divine being `god' and others to
call him 'el,' it follows that all who use one of these terms must have derived their ideas of
the supernatural, vocabulary or religious terms from a common source, a common ancestor
of all these similiary phrased words.
West African religious phraseology is deeply impregnated by Ancient Egyptian
phraseology. Vocabulary exist in parts of West Africa and are similar to, or identical with,
those of Ancient Egypt: hence the irresistible inference of a close connection between those
parts of West Africa and Ancient Egypt. Orisa for example, is a religious term widely
distributed over thousands of miles in West Africa and in East Africa, its source of
diffusion being Ancient Egypt form of Osiris.

Religious Ideas
(i) The general religious ideas of the Ancient Egyptians have survived in West Africa. A
supreme deity is recognized, but worship is given to the local deities and ancestors.
(ii) The Great Gods of Ancient Egypt. The great gods have survived in West Africa in
name or attributes or in both. Special reference may be made to Osiris, Ra, Amen, Ptah,
Min and Horus. all of whose ideas have survived in East and West African religions.
(iii) Ideas relating to the divinity of kings. such as the references to the Sed Festival are
seen in East and West Africa.
(iv) Ideas relating to future life, to the judgment after death. and to the practice of making
earthly provision for the requirements of the dead in the next world are recognized in
several places. Particular attention should be paid to the doctrines of the Ka and of the Khu.
(v) Ideas relating to the pig and other sacred animals, the observance of festivals, the
importance of dancing, the prominence given to singing and the efficacy of offerings
suggest connections. The survival of the Mock King of Ancient Egypt has also suggested
connections.
(vi) The Chapters on Magic in West Africa show how closely related to the Magical Ideas
and Practices in Ancient Egypt are those of West Africa. The similarity and identity of
amulets have been noted. The amulet of the head-rest in Ancient Egypt has survived in the
Sika Gua, "The Golden Stool" of the Ashantis and other emblems in West Africa The
distinction between Heka as White Magic and Hekat as Black Magic survives in West
Africa.

Particular attention must be paid to the fact that some of the ideas mentioned above did not
exist in the pre-dynastic periods and that the worship of the different gods which came into
prominence during the respective dynastic periods survive in West Africa. Khnum, for
example, Was probably a pre-dynastic deity, but it was during the dynastic period that the
conception of him as a potter came into existence, and the old ideas associated with him
had become lost before the Ptolemaic times. Khnum is known to West Africans only as a
"Creator god, a Potter."

Religious Practices
The survival of religious practices is another indicator. These practices centre around
(a) places of worship,
(b) services in groves and shrines,
(c) lustrations,
(d) use of music,
(e) training for the priesthood,
(f) priests and their functions,
(g) dedicated objects, and
(h) oracles.

Here again it may be observed that practices distinctive of the dynastic times, such as the
ways of training candidates for the priesthood and the performance of mystery plays at
Abydos, survive in West Africa. The wearing of the leopard's skin by the Chief Priest in
dynastic times also survives in West Africa. The "templum" idea, associated with the
priesthood in Egypt and in West Africa, was a development of dynastic times.

Body Mutilations
The bodily mutilations are as follows:
A.Circumcision. The Ancient Egyptians attach great importance to this rite, especially
among the priests.
B. Excision. This rite was also practised by the Ancient Egyptians. Piercing of ears and
nose and tattoing. These practices started during the pre-historic period and were
maintained during a great part of the dynastic times.
C.Shaving. This was one of the restrictions laid upon the priests. All these practices survive
in West Africa.

Funeral Practices
The Ancient Egyptian funeral rites survive in West Africa. Starting tom the pre-historic
rite of dismembering or unfleshing the body, to the practice of skull or heart removal and
then on the practice of mummifi-cation, the traces of which survive in the practice of
wrapping up dead bodies like mummies, the Ancient Egyptian rites survive in their
different stages.

Knowledge
There has been survival of pottery, glass and glaze work, stone work, and metal work
closely resembling those of the dynastic Egyptians.
The West African time measurement is based on Egyptian ideas. The four-day week and
its extensions-the eight-day week or the sixteen-day week-are based on Egyptian ideas. The
seven-day week is a survival of each section of the udjat (odjo-t) or the full moon period
consisting of two sections, each of seven days.
The West African systems of numeration and the names of numbers provide their own
evidence in support of the theory of contact with Ancient Egypt.

Social Practices
The social practices relating to salutations, respect for elders, import-ance of oaths,
observance of moderation, and others as observed in West Africa are similar to those of
Ancient Egypt. Several moral maxims have survived which are clearly derived from
Ancient Egypt.

Names
(a) The importance of names, as constituting an integral part of the human economy, is the
same in West Africa as it was in Ancient Egypt This has been pointed out above.
(b) The names of the deities which survive in West Africa are numerous, including SOB-
KU survives as the name of a tribe, that is, SOBO, in Southern Nigeria.as does MIN in the
name of two tribes, that is MINA in Togo-land and Dahomey, and IGBO-MINA in
Yorubaland and HA-OIRI-T survives as A-WO-RI, the name of a tribe in Yoruba land, U
PTAH, "The living soul of Ptah" survives in Yorubaland as JAKUTA, and ADUMU
survives as the name of the Supreme Deity of the Ijaws in Southern Nigeria.
(c) Names of animals. O.J. Lucas gives under "The Religion of the Yorubas" a list
containing thirty names of animals which are derived from Ancient Egyptian words.
(d) Names of places. A select list of the Ancient Egyptian names of places which have
survived in West Africa from Egypt is also given in O.J. Lucas' book.
(e) Other names:
DANGA, the name of dwarfs in Ancient Egypt, survives as DANGA in Yorubaland, e.g. to
bi danga "go as quickly as a Danga dwarf." KHAFRA survives in AFARA, e.g. ma je afara
lit. "do not be afara," that is, do not delay, otherwise you will be caught and pressed into
compulsory service as King Khafra did in Ancient Egypt.

Sacred Numbers
According to Professor E. Wallis Budge, the sacred numbers in Ancient Egypt are' "3, 4,
7, 9, 27, 42, 75, 77, 110, etc. Thus we have three gods the triad), the three divisions of the
world, heaven, sky, and Tuat;four sons of Horus, four quarters of the world, four blazing
flames. ..four stairs four doors of heaven, four rudders of heaven, four vessels of blood, our
vessels of milk, seven Arits, seven hawks, seven-headed serpent, seven scorpions of Isis,
seven Spirits; nine gods in a Company, nine chiefs, nine mutchis, nine nations who use the
bow; twenty-seven gods (three Companies 9 x 3); forty-two nomes, forty-two assessors;
seventy-five Aresses to Ra; seventy-seven in magical papyri; one hundred and ten years the
limit of a man's life.
Nearly all the above numbers are sacred in West Africa. According to Dr. Parrinder,
"Three and its multiples, and seven, are generally sacred- At Porto Novo, during funeral
rites, a male corpse is placed nine times the grave before final rest, a female seven times;
for nine evenings following a fire is kept up at the threshold of the funeral chamber, seven
evenings for a woman; the same nine-seven motif is observed in infancy rites and in skull
removal. The belief is current among Fort and Yoruba hat men have nine pairs of ribs and
women seven.„L To these maybe added the Ewe, Yoruba and lbo four-day week, the
Ashanti seven-day week the forty-two days constituting an Adae ceremony period, the
Yoruba expression meje-meje "seven-seven" and other examples of the redness of the
numbers, notably the threefold and the fourfold formulae.
It is noteworthy that all the numbers are considered sacred by the dynastic Egyptians; there
is no evidence that they were confined to the pre-dynastic period or that all the sacred
numbers existed in that period. Many of the numbers (e.g. the forty-two assessors) relate to
ideas which were developed only during the dynastic period.

Dress
Attention has been called to the similarity of the dress of priests in Ancient Egypt to that
used by priests in West Africa. In Ancient Egypt the high priest used to wear the skin of a
panther (black leopard). in West Africa the high priest as well as other priests wears the
skin of a leopard.
Some of the pre-dynastic Egyptians, and even some dynastic Egyptians on occasions, go
naked. Children, too, up to a certain age go naked. All these survive in West Africa as well
as some of the types of clothing used in Ancient Egypt

Hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics and emblems used by the pre-dynastic Egyptians and the dynastic Egyptians
survive in West Africa. They constitute a piece of evidence which opponents of the theory
of Egyptian influence on West Africa have not been able to assail.
The Hieroglyphics and the emblems which survive in West Africa have been described by
O.J. Lucas. Their origin is distinctly Egyptian-not "Phoenician" or "Atlantic," not "Islamic"
or "Arabian," not "Mesopotamian" or "Oriental," not "Hebraic" or "Palestinian," not
"unknown" or connected with some "primitive level of ideas, current in pre-historic
Africa."

CONCLUSION: (from O.J. Lucas):

The evidence has demonstrated the impress of Ancient Egyptian culture on West African
culture. It has dispelled the thick mist surrounding the origin of several West African
names, such as Fanti, Asanti, Foil, Yoruba Salug, which have hitherto been described as
unknown. It has thrown light on several West African words hitherto described as
inexplicable. It has led to the "decipherment" of Hieroglyphics in West Africa.
The evidence adduced in this work in support of the theory of Egyptian influence is
cumulative; each piece of evidence is sufficiently strong to ensure the solidity of the whole
of the evidential structure. The cumulative effect of the evidence makes it irrefragable.
Efforts hitherto made to destroy some parts of the evidence have invariably resulted in the
production of additional materials in support of the theory.
With one more important proof of the close relation existing between the Ancient
Egyptian religion and the West African Religions this work can now close. It is the identity
of the philosophical or the metaphysical atlook in both cases. In the case of the Ancient
Egyptian religion Dr C- P. Tiele says,
"The leading thought of the Egyptian religion, that which ad on the whole most struck the
Egyptian, and which he accordingly reproduced most prominently in his theology is: life in
its eternal un- changeable foundation, and its innumerable modes of manifestation, Life,
health, well-being' (arch, uza, seneb) is his motto, the sum of all his wishes The
indestructibleness of life, in spite of the hostile powers of death and destruction, was what
constituted his whole faith and all his This was his great dogma, and all his innumerable
symbols were ailed in to aid him in giving it expression."'
The Egyptian motto "Life, Health, Well-being" or "Life, Health, Strength," survives in
West African religious phraseology and exercises no less in-fluence on West Africans than
it did on the Ancient Egyptians. The idea of life, and the word expressive of it, figure
prominently in West African religious conception The West African metaphysical outlook
is identical with that of the Ancient Egyptians.
Writers on West African Religions have described the metaphysical or philosophical
outlook in terms which are almost identical with those used by Dr Tiele in the passage
quoted above. Writing about the African philosophy of life-a term which undoubtedly
includes the West African philosophy of life-Dr Parrinder says:
"This metaphysical outlook has been clearly expressed by Father Temples. He introduces
his thesis in these words: `There are, in the mouths of black people, certain words which
recur incessantly. These are those which express the supreme values. They are like
variations upon a leitmotiv which is found in their language, their thought and in all their
deeds and gestures.
`This supreme value is force, forceful living, vital force.
`Of all the strange habits, of which we grasp neither the rhyme nor the reason, the Bantu
say that they serve to acquire vigour or vital force, to live forcibly, to reinforce life, or to
assure its continuity in their descendants.'
This conception is not only of the Bantu, but perhaps of most parts of Africa.
"Force, power, energy, vitality, life, dynamism, these are the operative notions behind
prayers to God, invocations of divinities, offering to ancestors, everything that may be
termed religion, including therein what we are pleased to designate `magic' or `medicine.'
The aim of all these practices being to strengthen and affirm life." A study of prayers. ..will
reveal most often the chief characteristic to be a demand: "Give me life, force, increase of
family."
The words generally used by West Africans are the words of the Ancient Egyptian
formula: "Life, Health, Strength."
It is this great and uplifting metaphysical outlook that has enabled the West African
peoples to face the difficulties of existence with fortitude, to survive such gruelling
experiences as those which were caused by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and to strengthen
their faith with buoyant expectancy of a bright future. It is this philosophy of life that has
pre-vented the indigenous religions from being swept away by the powerful current of
western civilization- Indigenous religions will lose their hold only in proportion to the
extent that Christianity, or for that matter any other religion, exercises sufficiently strong
influence to satisfy this deepest longing of the West African mind for life and to effect a
practical realiza-tion of the truth of the saying: "I have come that men may have life, and
may have it in all its fullness."

Some ridiculous criticisms of the theory:

Comparison of O.J. Lucas' language arguements to people like Dan Crawford are being
lamebrain. Dan Crawford has identified Lesa, an African name for God with EL, the
Israelites' name for God, by an ingenious process. He suggests that the second syllable
should be cast away and the first syllable LE. inverted to become EL. Then he asks, "What
is LE but the wrong way o spelling the Semitic EL. The present theory, involving the
derivation of words, customs and practice from Ancient Egypt, is not a repetition of the
numerological method of explanation.

Some of the criticisms arise from the difficulty of checking up the origin of words from a
dead or unfamiliar language. Whilst philologists can sometimes be able to trace the origin,
the average reader unfamiliar wit the dead or foreign language is apt to treat the derivation
as fantastic. The difficulty can also be great as in the case of a living or familiar language.
For example:
(i) "Bikasi Gado ben lobbi ala soema so, tee a gi da won lobb Pikien vo hem abra; vo ala
soema, disi bridebi na hem, no moe go Iasi ana vo dem habi liebi vo tugo:" °
(This is John 23 of the Bible in English of the Surinam nation ). Other critics have said
there is no unity in Ancient Egyptian religion.
"Each town, and indeed each village, honoured its own divinity, adored by the respective
inhabitants.-.. The Egyptians believed that each place was inhabited by a great number of
spirits, and that the lesser ones were subject to the chief spirit."-
Dr Margaret A. Murray feels that "by dividing the deities of Egypt into four categories the
bewildering pantheon becomes intelligible. The categories which are far from being
watertight compartments, are as follows:
I. Local Gods, originally animals, later represented with human bodies and animal heads.
2. Osiris and the attendant deities.
3. Deities without temples, originally belonging to the Pharaoh only. 4. The sill, and other
deities.
The forms of the religion according to the chronological order accepted by most of the
leading Egyptologists are as follows:

1. The Religion of Thinis-Abydos. The gods worshipped were: Osiris (Asiri, Osiri, or
Ausar, Lord of Abydos, Sun-god, Son of Scb and Nu; later described as Horus the Elder),
Isis (wife of Osiris); Horus the Younger (Horu-sa-Ast or Hori-se-Ast, son of Osiris and Isis;
later husband of his mother); Nephthys (the sister of Isis and the husband of Set), Hathor
(identified with Isis), Thoth (Telnuti or Zehu, god of time, eternity, righteousness and
widom) and Maat the goddess of truth and righteousness.

2.The religion of Heliopolis: The gods worshipped were: Ra (the sun god identified with
Osiris and Horus). Atum (or Tum name for the same functional good in the Lower
Kingdom), Shu the life giver born without a mother, and Tefnut his wife.

3. Religion under the Old Kingdom: The capital was Memphis, and the chief gods were
Ptah, Sechet (Bast), Neith.
4. Religion under the Middle Kingdom: Munt, Chem (Min), Cheminis, Amon, Khnum,
Sebek, Tannit, Hapi.

5. Relgion under the New Kingdom: Sutech(Set, as chief diety), Amun-Ra, Mut, Khonsu,
Aten(Sun god) and Aten-Ra (another sun god).

6. Religion from fall of Thebes to the Persian Conquests: Khnum was the chief god, god of
creativity and life giving in general, Ra (the upper heavens) and Shu(air), Set (earth), and
Osiris(underworld).

The fundermentals of the religion was (after Wallis Budge): 1. Belief in the immortality
ofthe soul and the recognition of friends and relatives after death.

2. Belief in the resurrection of the spiritual body occuring after death.

3. Belief in the continued existence of the heart-soul, the Ka and it's shadow.

4. Belief in transmutation of offerings and the efficiency of funerary sacrifices and gifts.

5. Belief in the power of words including names, incantations.

6. Belief in a judgment, the good rewarded with everlasting life, the evil destroyed totally.

It should also be noted that the common people were not often admitted to the temples of
the great gods, and the practices of the common people differed from that religion rituals
performed by the priests. Magic became explicitly entwined during the Roman period with
the religion as it then existed.

Professor E. A. Wallis Budge says:

"Greek writers tell us that their own sages and philosophers Archimedes, Hecataeus, Plato,
Pythagoras, Solon, Thales, went and studied in Egypt in order to become acquainted with
the wisdom and learning of the Egyptians.... Stephen the Martyr, in his dying speech (Acts
vii, 22) says that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians."
It is clear that the influence of Egypt on civilizations in Europe, Asia and North Africa as
well as America and Australia through Europe is acknowledged. This acknowledgment can
be seen in several other works than those quoted above. Somehow, the influence of Egypt
on African countries south of the Sahara has not received such attention from writers.,'
Some writers even question or deny the possibility of the existence of such an influence.`
Others have lamented the absence of information on the subject and stressed the need for
research.' Others again have only pointed out what they regard as traces of Egyptian
influence.

O.J. Lucas' work emphasizes the influence of Ancient Egypt on West Africa. Valid
criticism of his work notes that he selected evidence, but of a typical nature from the tribes,
used in support of the theory. However Lucas is a native of the area he speaks most
forcifully on, and he knows the language as only a native can.

African and Egyptian Religious Beliefs in E. A. Wallis Budge's Osiris

Sir E. A. Wallis Budge's book Osiris; The Egyptian Religion Of Resurrection gives one
of the most detailed comparisons of African and Egyptian religion to be found anywhere.

Budge had always contended that the ancient Egyptians were African to the core and this
bothered many scholars of his day who advocated an Asian origin for Egyptian civilization.

Listed below are some of the more striking links uncovered by Budge.

• The widespread belief in a single creator God, immortality, transmigration of souls

and transubstantiation (partial residence of God in amulets).
• The Moon, rather than the Sun, is associated with the Supreme God among the
ancient Egyptians and among peoples living along the Nile, Congo and Niger.
Budge notes that the New Moon festival is found all over Africa and is commonly
associated, as it was in ancient Egypt, with the remembrance, by kings and
commoners, of their sins, and by prayers for protection from evil spirits. He cites
examples such as the Mendi, Tshi and Ilogo and various peoples in Sudan and
Tanganyika..
• The importance of the cow as the most sacred of animals is found in ancient Egypt
and in many parts of Africa especially among the peoples living along the Nile and
in the Great Lakes region. Of particular importance was the sacrifice of a bull(s) at
the funeral of the deceased. The sacrifice of two bulls at funerals is detailed in "The
Opening of the Mouth." The Egyptian rite involved offering the heart of one bull to
the mouth of the deceased or to a statue of the deceased. The hide of the other bull
was used to wrap the corpse. Both rituals were believed to impart the powers of the
bull (which represented Osiris) to the dead ancestor. Budge gives numerous
examples of the sacrifice of a bull during African funerals. Among many Nilotic
peoples the bull's hide is placed at the bottom of the grave.
• In Egypt, offerings were made to ancestors in the form of meals placed on stone
slabs in the ancestor's tomb. Budge notes that stone slabs were used for the same
purpose among the Buvuma. The offering of meals to ancestors in spirit houses is
widely found through much of Africa and Budge cites examples among the
Bakonjo, Basukuma, Makarakas and in East and West Africa.
• Deification of ancestor heroes is a common practice in much of Africa. Budge notes
that Osiris in the form of Khenti-Amenti stands as the ancestor god of Egypt while
Isis is the ancestor mother goddess. He notes the uncanny resemblance between the
widespread African practice of giving birth in the "bush" to a bas relief found at
Philae. Among Africans, birth in the bush is done in solitude with the father and the
shaman waiting from a comfortable distance until after the delivery. The relief at
Philae shows Isis in a stylized papyrus swamp suckling Horus. The papyrus would
thus stand here for the "bush." Standing on either side of Isis is Amen-Ra,
representing the African father, and Thoth, representing the African shaman. Budge
thinks the symbols found under Isis could represent the placenta and blood
associated with child birth. Interestingly, Budge cites a passage in which Isis
speaks of her loneliness during labor, which mirrors the African tradition of giving
child birth in solitude. Specific examples are given from Uganda and the Sudan.
• Amulets are seen as partial residences for ancestral spirits in ancient Egypt and
throughout Africa. Budge notes that the "fetish" quality of amulets, often stressed
by Western observers, is secondary to the importance of communion with the
ancestors.
• The beetle and frog are amulets of new life in both ancient Egypt and modern
Africa.
• In predynastic Egypt, Budge gives evidence of the practice of consuming the bodies
of slain enemies. This also appears to have persisted, to some extent, even into the
dynastic period. Passages are cited relating how King Unas of Sakkara obtained
supernatural powers through eating human flesh. The same story is repeated in the
pyramid of Teta in the VI dynasty. The practice of consuming one's slain enemies
and the consequent powers gained survived among some African peoples in Budge's
day. However, Budge goes overboard in giving citations of cannibalism in
medieval and modern Egypt and Africa. In many cases, such events were driven by
hunger during famine or war and have little to do with the concepts illustrated from
ancient Egypt.
• In ancient Egypt, slaves and others were often put to death at the funerals of kings
and important people. Budge cites the same practice at the funerals of chiefs in
Sudan, the Gold Coast, Benin, along the Niger and Congo and elsewhere. The
resting of coffins on human heads in Sudan is linked to a similar practice illustrated
on the tomb of Seti I.
• The tall hats and horned crowns worn by African chiefs resemble the White Crown
and horned crowns worn by Osiris. Examples are given among the Bayanzi,
Imbangela, Lomani, Lulongo-Maringo, Bangala, N. Ngombe and Alunda. Two
ostrich feathers decorate the White Crown of Osiris. These feathers are worn by
various peoples in Africa also.
• The plaited beard common in old Egyptian art is quite common in various parts of
Africa. Budge cites examples among the Makarkas, Mpungu, Fang, Bayanzi, Lunda
and Luba.
• The "scalework" on the body of Osiris is thought to be related to the body painting
or tatooing found among various African peoples particularly those in the Sudan.
• Budge notes that both modern Africans and ancient Egyptians practiced
preservation of the dead body: "The Egyptians removed the intestines and brain,
and embalmed the body with great skill, and then swathed it in linen, and laid it in a
 coffin or sarcophagus. The modern African removes the more perishable parts of
the body by ways which will be described further on, and dries or smokes the corpse
very effectively. He also anoits it with unguents, and wraps it up in much cloth, and
then places it in a coffin or on a bier." (p. 90)
• The mention of the jawbones of the deceased Unas, Re-stau and enemies of Horus
in Egyptian texts are explained by the African practice of removing and preserving
the jawbones of kings, or using the jawbones of enemies as trophies. Specifially
mentioned are the Sudani, Dahomey, Baganda, Ashante and various peoples of
Uganda.
• The Egyptian concept of the ka, meaning"double" has its counterpart throughout
wide regions of Africa. Among the Tshi it is known as kra or kla meaning "soul"
and as doshi among the Bantu which means literally "double" (as in the Egyptian).
In both Egypt and the rest of Africa, the ka differs from the Western idea of "soul."
The ancient Egyptians and modern Africans had the idea of at least three types of
"souls" inhabiting each person. The ka is an immaterial double of the physical body
that persists after death. The ka though is distinct from the person, and is a type of
guardian spirit. The ka in both Africa and ancient Egypt must be cared for after a
person dies or the ka itself will perish. Egyptians and Africans made images in
which the ka dwelt and to these were offered meals and worship.
• The sahu or "spirit-body" arose in the "Other World" after one's death. Among the
Tshi, the "shadowy person" that comes to live in the "Other World" after death is
known as Srahman. Similar ideas were cited amongst the Yoruba, Uvengwa and
Baluba. Like the ba, the sahu could perish in certain circumstances.
• The Egyptians considered the shadow or khaibat as a type of "soul." Similar beliefs
among the Nsism, Wanyamwesi, Nandi, and Busuko and in various parts of the
Lower Niger, Congo, Southern Guinea and Mashonaland were mentioned by
Budge.
• The khu was the imperishable spirit and had its counterpart in the "dual soul"
concept of West Africa. The belief in transmigration of the dual soul and shadow
was common in Africa. Reincarnation was widely found among the people of the
Niger Delta who made a practice of identifying which people in a community were
the souls of persons deceased in earlier times. Among the Pygmies, Banza and West
Mubangi the spirit was reincarnated in animal form and this type of belief was held
by some segments of the Egyptian population.
• Both modern Africans and ancient Egyptians took care to protect the buried body
from contact with the earth, which was seen as contaminating. The African burial
usually consists of a deep pit into which a niche is carved so that the body does not
come into contact with the earth. The Egyptian tomb was also built in a pit with a
sarcophagus taking the role of the niche. In some African burials the niche was
sealed off with stones as with the Egyptian sarcophagus.
• The Egyptians, like modern Africans, saw the journey to the "Other World" after
death as difficult. In both cases, rituals were performed to "open the way" for the
deceased.
• The Egyptian concept of Tuat found its counterpart in the African "God's Town" or
"Njambi's Town."
• The concept of divine kingship linked ancient and modern cultures.
• Ancient Egyptians and modern Africans both had priests/shamans adept in both
"white" and "black" magic. Unlike the Hebrew or Mesopotamian priest, who
usually eschewed magical practices, the Egyptian priest's schooling involved
learning innumerable magical incantations and potions.
• The use of "black magic" by Egyptian priests often resembled practices common in
Voodoo. These included the making of wax dolls in the image of specific persons.
These wax dolls could be cut and slashed to inflict pain on those persons or burnt to
inflict death. In one passage, a wax crocodile was fashioned that turned into the real
thing in order to attack the intended victim.
• Budge notes that spitting had a religious meaning among ancient Egyptians. He
found similar beliefs among the Kordofan, Dyur, Barotze, Nandi, Suk, Kytch and
Masa.
• In a somewhat unrelated notice, Budge mentions that Egyptians commonly made
figures of steatopygous women. He mentions specifically the dolls and
representations at the 4th Egyptian Room in the British Museum. He compares
these with the figures of the steatopygous queen and princess of Punt.
• Budge notes that African cultures, including Egypt, often worship the snake and
crocodile. The symbolism of the serpent uraeus is specially noted.
• The use of multiple "mighty names" among ancient Egyptians was similar to the use
of "strong names" among African peoples.