Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale <al-Qāhira> [Hrsg.]; Mission Archéologique Française <al-Qāhira> [Hrsg.]: Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie et à l'archéologie égyptiennes et assyriennes: pour servir de bullletin à la Mission Française du Caire (37.1915)

THE KA ON SCARABS

91

being towed up stream, as Professer Breasted translates, to know the things of Aby-
dos, <ÉÊ> <3=>¥ J]^1; as I interpret it « for the magie cérémonies to be performed at
» Abydos ». Professor Breasted adds (Development of Religion and Thought in
Ancient Egypt) : « Just what thèse sacred things of Abydos may have been we have
» no means of knowing. » The « means of knowing » are scarabs ; the Bennu scarabs
and the ® Scarabs throw considérable light on thèse « sacred things » which are evi-
dently the same as those mentioned in the Lxivth Chapter. Both Heliopolis and
Abydos were sacred cities.

It must be remembered that the Bennu and the Ba are symbolic, not real birds.
They represent an essence, the soul of an entity, its most vital, spiritual part wherein
its force résides.

The Ba is the human soul, and the Bennu is the soul of Ra combined with the soul
of Osiris, and as Osiris, the Bennu is identifiable with the Deceased according to the
pantheistic scheme of things prévalent in Ancient Egyptian religion. Thus the Bennu
wears the insignia of the great gods, the ram's horns, and the disk, (94) Biella Muséum.

There is a still rarer variety of ® Scarabs, perhaps one in 3,000 scarabs may be
found, namely with the Ka.

(95) Late Hilton Priée Collection : May Ra give his U and = ail the magie
cérémonies.

(96) Timins Collection. The same contracted, cRa' and verb omitted.

8. Ka Rannut Scarabs.

It is well known thas U has the second meaning of food, the foundation of ail our
vitality as long as we wear the cmuddy vesture of clecay'. The goddess Rannut was
the harvest goddess and therefore the most appropriate deitv to appeal to for food, and
lier title at Dendera and elsewhere was « Lady of Provisions », o=d . Some-

_ I I I ^---' /VWvVN

0-0 i,Qj

times the provisions are written inside the U, thus : mu , or □ .

L_J iii <^>

(97) Cairo Muséum. On this scarab we find the naine Rannut written, ,
which, if fully written out, would be 0(EI/n . But scarabs never do this, and

AAAAAA

only provide a slender suggestion to guess with, which is useless unless compared
with other évidence on the monuments, and on what Italians call « monumentini »,
such as the Leiden amulet.

The remainder half of (97) is taken up with a large urseus and a large lotus. The
urseus apparently is Rannut, figured again, the whole being a prayer to Rannut to give
provisions to Deceased.

(98) Stamp, Pétrie Collection, University Collège, Gower S1, London : May Ran-
nut, lady of numerous provisions (nourish) Deceased.

(99) Bronze ring, Tanis, Pétrie, the same, without « numerous ».

(100) Memphis, Vol. I, Pétrie. Here the Deceased, ( J ) is teft 0Llt) but the name
of the goddess is sufficient to provide the owner of the scarab with food.

(101) Bologna, Museo Civico, the same as (99).;