Baba (Egyptian God)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Babi, also Baba, in
ancient Egyptian religion Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of Polytheism, polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with Ancient Egyptian deities, many deities belie ...
, was the deification of the
hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ; gawina;Aerts 2019 , Ar Robbaḥ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region o ...
, one of the animals present in ancient Egypt. His name is usually translated as "bull of the baboons", roughly meaning "chief of the baboons". Baboons are extremely aggressive and
omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...
, and Babi was viewed as being very bloodthirsty, and living on entrails. Consequently, he was viewed as devouring the souls of the sinful after they had been weighed against
Maat Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: ''mꜣꜥt'' /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...
(the concept of truth/order), and was thus said to stand by a lake of fire, representing destruction. Since this judging of righteousness was an important part of the underworld, Babi was said to be the first-born son of
Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
, the god of the dead in the same regions in which people believed in Babi. Baboons also have noticeably high
libido In psychology, libido (; ) is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived of as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived of as including other forms of desire. The term ''libido'' was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneering origin ...
s, in addition to their high level of genital marking, and so Babi was considered the god of
virility Virility (from the Latin ''virilitas'', manhood or virility, derived from Latin ''vir'', man) refers to any of a wide range of masculine characteristics viewed positively. Virile means "marked by strength or force". Virility is commonly associ ...
of the dead. He was usually portrayed with an
erection An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a Physiology, physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, ...
, and due to the association with the judging of souls, was sometimes depicted as using it as the
mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...
of the ferry which conveyed the righteous to
Aaru Aaru (; , ), or the Field of Reeds (, ''sekhet-aaru''), is the name for heavenly paradise in Egyptian mythology. Ruled over by Osiris, an Egyptian god, the location has been described as the of the Nile Delta. Ancient Egyptians believed th ...
, a series of islands. One spell in a
funerary text Funerary texts or funerary literature feature in many belief systems. Its purpose is usually to provide guidance to the newly deceased or the soon-to-be-deceased about how to survive and prosper in the afterlife. Antiquity The most famous exampl ...
identifies the deceased person's phallus with Babi, ensuring that the deceased will be able to have sexual intercourse in the afterlife.


Mythology

The Papyrus Jumilhac describes a mythological conflict between the gods
Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...
and Babi. In the story, Babi, depicted as a red dog with yellow eyes, accuses Thoth of theft before the
Ennead The Ennead or Great Ennead was a group of nine deities in Egyptian mythology worshipped at Heliopolis: the sun god Atum; his children Shu and Tefnut; their children Geb and Nut; and their children Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. The Enn ...
and the sun god Ra. However, the Ennead rejects the accusation, as they did not witness the alleged crime. When Babi continues to spread rumors about Thoth, the latter retaliates by anointing Babi’s sleeping phallus with his writing reed and casting a spell upon him. This enchantment causes Babi’s penis to swell during intercourse, making it impossible for him to separate from his partner. When Babi engages in intercourse with an unnamed female, his penis swells, and he becomes trapped. Thoth then convenes the Great and Small Ennead, mocking Babi’s exposed testicles. Ra declares Babi guilty, though the exact nature of his crime remains unclear. As punishment, Babi is handed over to Thoth, who executes him on a sacrificial block. This passage in the papyrus appears to justify the tradition of sacrificing a dog in Thoth’s honor. Babi’s offense could have been rape, adultery, or simply excessive sexual indulgence. His partner is referred to as “mnt”, which translates to “someone”, suggesting that her identity is either irrelevant or deliberately concealed. In ancient Egyptian belief, written words held power, so crimes against deities—such as the murder of Osiris—were often described in euphemistic terms. A related inscription in the Temple of Edfu includes a spell to suppress Babi’s sexual virility with a goddess who is paradoxically referred to as both a “God’s Wife” and a woman who abstains from relationships with gods and men. The title “God’s Wife” was used for both priestesses and goddesses associated with the Eye of Ra. A similar mythological motif appears in the Mythological Manual of the Delta, where a goddess is bound and raped by
Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
while she isholding onto him to prevent his escape. Another reference to Babi and dogs appears in the Papyrus Geneva. In a episode from Horus childhood, the goddess
Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
warns her son Horus to stay away from Babi, who is roaming the land with 77 dogs. When Horus is bitten on the lower leg by one of Babi’s dogs, Isis instructs him to treat the wound with an unknown plant called Sryw, which had been stored in jars exposed to sunlight. The text seems to serve as a medical guide for dog bites, identifying the patient with Horus himself. The dog is then fed the plant, after which it dies, symbolizing the removal of the venom, while the patient is now able to recover.Leitz 1994, p.112.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Babi (Mythology) Egyptian gods Underworld gods Animal gods Mythological monkeys Love and lust gods