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Duat

The Duat (dwꜣt, Egyptological pronunciation "do-aht", ⲧⲏ, also appearing as Tuat, Tuaut or Akert, Amenthes, Amenti, or Neter-khertet) is the underworld in ancient Egyptian mythology. It has been represented in hieroglyphs as a star-in-circle: 𓇽. The god Osiris was believed to be the lord of the underworld. He was the first mummy as depicted in the Osiris myth and he personified rebirth and life after death. The underworld was also the residence of various other gods along with Osiris.

The geography of the Duat is similar in outline to the world the Egyptians knew: There are realistic features like rivers, islands, fields, lakes, mounds and caverns, but there were also fantastic lakes of fire, walls of iron, and trees of turquoise. In the Book of Two Ways (a Coffin Text) there is even a map-like image of the Duat.

Resident souls, gods, and demons
The Duat was also a residence for various gods, including Osiris, Anubis, Thoth, Horus, Hathor, and Maat, who all appear to the dead soul as it makes its way toward judgement. In spite of the many demon-like inhabitants of the Duat, it is not equivalent to the conceptions of Hell in the Abrahamic religions, in which souls are condemned with fiery torment. The absolute punishment for the wicked, in ancient Egyptian thought, was the denial of an afterlife to the deceased, ceasing to exist in the intellectual form (Ancient Egyptian: ꜣḫ; Egypt. Pron.: Akh). The grotesque spirits of the underworld were not evil, but rather acted as directed by the gods, to provide the various ordeals that the deceased had to face.

Underworld route of the sun
The Duat was the region through which the sun god Ra traveled from west to east each night, and it was where he battled Apep, who embodied the primordial chaos which the sun had to defeat in order to rise each morning and bring order back to the earth. It was also the place where people's souls went after death for judgment, though that was not the full extent of the afterlife. Burial chambers formed touching-points between the mundane world and the Duat. As such, the west bank of the Nile was associated with the dead and funeral barges would mimic the sun god Ra's journey through the sky during the day. The Akh (the conscious part of the soul) could use tombs to travel back and forth from the Duat.

Each night the sun god Ra travelled through the Duat, bringing revivification to the dead as their main benefit. When in the underworld he was in his ram-headed form. Ra travelled under the world upon his Atet barge from west to east; on the course of the underground journey, he was transformed from his aged Atum form into his young Khepri form – the new dawning sun. The role of the dead king, worshiped as a god, was also central to the mythology surrounding the concept of Duat, often depicted as being identical with Ra.

Along with the sun god the dead king travelled through the Duat, the Kingdom of Osiris, using the special knowledge he was supposed to possess, which was recorded in the Coffin Texts, that served as a guide to the hereafter not just for the king but for all deceased. According to the Amduat, the underworld consists of twelve regions signifying the twelve hours of the sun god's journey through it, battling Apep in order to bring order back to the earth in the morning; as his rays illuminated the Duat during the journey, they revived the dead who occupied the underworld and let them enjoy life after death during that hour of the night when they were in the presence of the sun god, after which they resumed their sleep, waiting for the god's return the following night.

Place of the dead
The rest of the dead journeyed through the various parts of the Duat to be judged, but not to be unified with the sun god like the dead king. If the deceased was successfully able to pass various demons and challenges, then they would reach the Judgment of the dead. In this ritual, the deceased's first task was to correctly address each of the forty-two Assessors of Maat by name, while reciting the sins they did not commit during their lifetime. After confirming that they were sinless, the heart of the deceased was weighed by Anubis against the feather of Maat, which represents truth and justice. Any heart that is heavier than the feather failed the test, and was rejected and eaten by Ammit, the devourer of souls, as these people were denied existence after death in the Duat. The souls that were lighter than the feather would pass this most important test, and would be allowed to travel toward Aaru, the "Field of Rushes", an ideal version of the world they knew of, in which they would plough, sow, and harvest abundant crops.

In popular culture

 * The Duat appears as a major location in Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles series.
 * The Duat reveals in The Crown of Ptolemy to have connections to the Mist from Riordan's Camp Half-Blood Chronicles series.
 * The Duat appears as a secret level in the video game Spelunky 2.
 * In Assassin's Creed Origins, the Duat is an important aspect of the game with the main character, Bayek, entering it multiple times.
 * The Duat makes an appearance in the episode "Asylum" of the Disney+ series Moon Knight (2022) as the place where Marc Spector and his alter Steven Grant are being guided by the Egyptian goddess Taweret in the afterlife after being killed by Arthur Harrow.
 * In the film series Night at the Museum, a group of underworld warrior deities appear in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian when Kahmunrah uses the combination to open the gate to the underworld and summon an army of Horus warriors. The warriors appear from the underworld carrying spears ready to attack and join Kahmunrah's fight to take over the world.
 * In seminal Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs' work The Western Lands, the time travelling, anti hero gunslinger, Kim Carsons explores the Duat and confronts its inhabitants.
 * The Duat appears in Hargrove Perth's fictional series the Blood Tithe, featuring Egpytian Gods being hosted by humans after a plague in modern times.

title: Duat


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Nehebkau

Nehebkau (also spelled Nehebu-Kau) was the primordial snake god in ancient Egyptian mythology. Although originally considered an evil spirit, he later functions as a funerary god associated with the afterlife. As one of the forty-two assessors of Ma’at, Nehebkau was believed to judge the deceased after death and provide their souls with ka – the part of the soul that distinguished the living from the dead.

Nehebkau was ultimately considered a powerful, benevolent and protective deity. In late mythology, he is described as a companion of the sun god Ra and an attendant of the deceased King. As he is so closely associated with the sun god, his name was evoked in magical spells for protection. His festival was widely celebrated throughout the Middle and New Kingdoms.

Name
Nehebkau's name – also spelled Neheb-Kau and Nhb-K3w – has been translated in many ways by Egyptologists. These translations include: “that which gives Ka”; “he who harnesses the spirits”; the “overturner of doubles”; “collector of souls”; “provider of goods and foods” and “bestower of dignities”.

Mythology
Nehebkau is the “original snake” of Egyptian mythology, and was believed to be both an ancient and eternal god. Although he is occasionally represented as a son of Serket, Renenutet or Geb, he is sometimes believed to have simply "emerged from the earth". He was believed to have lived in the Great Temple of Heliopolis, which was also the centre of worship for Re and Atum.

Nehebkau is a considerably powerful deity, which contemporary Egyptologist and author Richard Wilkinson credits to his demonic origins and snake-like qualities. After he swallows seven cobras in a myth, Nehebkau cannot be harmed by any magic, fire or water. In an early myth, he demonstrates an ability to breathe fire. Nehebkau first appears in the Pyramid Texts, and he is described as an evil, long and winding serpent who devoured human souls in the afterlife. In this context, he is believed to be an enemy of the sun god, and Re is said to have built his sun boats to be able to be pushed by the wind in order to escape Nehebkau's many coils.

Nehebkau was later honoured among other dangerous gods as one of the 42 judges in the Court of Maat, judging the innocence of deceased souls. Additionally, orientalist Professor Wilhelm Max Muller describes Nehebkau to have personally guarded the gates of the underworld.

As a snake god, Nehebkau was also considered a dangerous, furious and fearsome demon.

In the Coffin Texts, however, the ancient god Atum places his fingernail against a nerve in Nehebkau's spine, calming his chaotic and fearsome nature.

Throughout and following the Coffin Texts, Nehebkau is considered a benevolent and helpful deity who may be befriended by gods and men and enlisted into service. After this transformation, he appears as a servant and partner to the sun god Re, and is said to provide food and assistance to the deceased King in the afterlife. In this position, he became increasingly powerful and important, eventually assuming Re's role as a King of The Sky.

It is in this peaceful form that he mostly appears in Egyptian mythologies, and he was often evoked as a protective god in religious rituals, amulets and spells.

Funerary God
As a funerary god and one of the forty-two judges in the Court of Maat, Nehebkau played a significant role in the Ancient Egyptian perception of the afterlife. As well as guarding the underworld, he was occasionally represented as a personal guard of Osiris.

When a deceased spirit enters the afterlife in Ancient Egyptian mythology, the most important stage is their trial in the Court of Maat, also known as the Law-Court of Osiris or the Dead Court. This tribunal consisted of forty-two fearsome deities who represented all possible types of evil, and to whom the deceased had to declare their innocence.

Nehebkau had a specific role in examining the individual's purity and sinlessness, and he was specifically responsible for protecting the neck and throat of the deceased.

Once the deceased is justified and found innocent by the Court, Nehebkau is believed to have absolved the soul of sin and provided the deceased with food and drink. He additionally nourishes the deceased with ka - the 'life force' of the individual - allowing their spirit to endure in the afterlife.

Attendant of Re
After he was subdued by Atum, Nehebkau was characterised as benevolent, beautiful and peaceful. It is in this state that he became the servant and partner of the sun god Re. In later myths, he assists Re in his moving of the morning boat through the sky to the east and throughout the flight of the day. In the Book of The Dead, this passage is described as making all people happy, filling hearts with “joy and justice”.

Additionally, Nehebkau is said to have served the dead Kings in this period: providing food, transmitting messages and intervening with other deities on their behalf.

Successor of Re
Nehebkau eventually assumed Re's role in the afterlife: becoming “the King of Heaven and ruler of the Two Lands” and bestowing crowns, ka and other desirable qualities upon the spirits of the deceased. He acted as a mediator between the deceased and the gods, and was additionally responsible for assigning the dead their positions in the afterlife.

Relationship to other gods
Nehebkau continuously appears alongside the sun god Re, as an assistant, companion and successor.

As an assessor of Maat in the Court of Osiris, he was also associated with Osiris himself: the god of the dead, fertility and the afterlife. Although not all of the 42 assessors have been identified by scholars, Wilkerson considers significant deities such as the ibis Thoth and crocodile Sobek to be included in the tribunal, and these gods can therefore be considered associates of Nehebkau.

As a snake deity, he was associated with and likely modelled after the great snake Apep — the enemy of Ra and embodiment of chaos in Egyptian myth.

Additionally, as a visiting god of Heliopolis and an ancient deity, Nehebkau was often associated with Atum: the creator god who calms his chaotic nature.

Nehebkau was represented as a consort of the minor goddess Nehmtaway, who is also a known partner of the wisdom god Thoth. She was depicted as a goddess holding an infant, with a distinguishing headdress shaped like a sistrum - an Ancient Egyptian musical instrument.

He sometimes appeared as a consort to the scorpion goddess Serket, who protected the deceased King and was often evoked to cure poison and scorpion stings. Some myths also describe Nehebkau as Serket's son.

Alternatively, he was believed to be the son of the earth god Geb. This is common with Egyptian snake gods and associated with the imagery of snakes crawling across the earth. When Geb is represented as his father, Nehebkau's mother is considered to be the harvest goddess Renenutet: the ‘good snake’ who ensured bountiful fields, harvests and kitchens for the living and nourished the kas of the dead.

The image of Nehebkau also appeared on depictions of the thrones of feline goddess Sekhmet and Bastet. Wilkerson theorises that this iconography would have likely symbolised his protection over them.

Iconography
Nehebkau is most often represented in Ancient Egyptian art, carvings and statues as an anthropomorphised snake: half human and half serpent. He is also commonly depicted as a falcon headed snake with human arms and legs and an erect penis, depicted as such in multiple hypocephali.

However, early texts and mythologies usually represented Nehebkau as a full serpent with a long body and multiple coils. It is in this form that often appears on the sides of divine thrones, likely in reference to his protective qualities and powerful nature.

In later periods, he appeared in a semi-anthropromophised form, as a man with the head and tail of a serpent or a serpent with human arms or legs. In this form he appears on amulets, small statues and plaques, with his arms “raised to the mouth to proffer small vessels for food or drink,” reflecting his function in the afterlife.

Nehebkau was occasionally shown as having two heads on two separate necks, and a third head on his tail supported by the figure of a man. Egyptologist Magali Massiera suggests that the two heads could be a representation of his dual good and evil nature, as well as his ability to simultaneously attack from two directions at once. In one artifact from Heliopolis, he appears as an eight headed snake.

These detailed descriptions of his appearance were common for guardians of the underworld, and were done so Nehekbau could be recognised by the deceased. Occasionally, Nehebkau is represented with the features of other snake demons: such as multiple heads and wings.

Worship
Although there was no specific priesthood associated with Nehebkau, scholars including Wilkinson consider it likely that he was widely worshipped in popular religion.

This worship was likely centred at his temple in Herakleopolis, although its exact location is rarely mentioned in sources. Nehebkau was also often associated with the Great Temple of Heliopolis, where he may have had a funerary chapel, as well as a statue that dates back to the reign of King Ramses II.

Nehebkau was also depicted in many amulets from the New Kingdom's third intermediate period and later. These amulets were often found in burials, which indicates a belief that Nehebkau would protect the deceased through their journey to the underworld. Kalloniatis also associates these amulets with Nehebkau's ability to sustain ka in spirits and nourish the deceased with food and drink in the afterlife.

His image also appears on amulets designed to protect against poison, snake-bites and scorpion venom.

Magic and Spells
Anti-snake spells are incredibly common in Egyptian texts, appearing in the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts and The Book of the Dead, alongside other spells designed to repel dangerous animals. Many magical objects are inscribed with scenes of benevolent deities protecting humanity from snakes.

After becoming associated with Ra, Nehebkau's name was often evoked in magical spells to function as a magical protector. His image was depicted as a protective deity on some ivory wands.

Festivals
Nehebkau's festival was recorded as occurring thirty-two times in the New Kingdom, but is known to have been celebrated since at least the Middle Kingdom.

The exact date of the festival is contested by scholars: it may have been celebrated nine days after the festival of ploughing the earth, on the first day of the first month of the winter season or alternatively during the coronation of the King during the Ramesside period

Individuals would often celebrate this festival by eating hsjitt plants and cakes made of khersait plants. The festival is believed by researcher Sharon LaBorde to have been a feast celebrating redemption and rebirth; potentially associated with the lion goddess Sekhmet.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Nehebkau


text:
Enfield

Enfield may refer to:

Australia

 * Enfield, New South Wales
 * Enfield, South Australia
 * Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
 * Enfield High School (South Australia)
 * Enfield, Victoria

Canada

 * Enfield, Nova Scotia
 * Rural Municipality of Enfield No. 194, Saskatchewan

Greater London

 * Enfield, London, a town in the ceremonial county of Greater London
 * Enfield Chase
 * Enfield F.C.
 * Enfield Highway
 * Enfield Lock
 * Enfield poltergeist, a claimed cause of supernatural activity between 1977 and 1979
 * Enfield Town, the historic centre of Enfield, chartered as a market town in 1303
 * Enfield-chantry school, chantry school in Enfield from c. 1398–1558, and the predecessor of Enfield Grammar School
 * Enfield County School, girls' comprehensive school, established 1909
 * Enfield Grammar School, boys' secondary school, established 1558
 * Enfield Town F.C., a breakaway football club from Enfield FC, established in 2001
 * St Andrew's Enfield, the church of the ancient parish of Enfield
 * Enfield Wash
 * Enfield East (UK Parliament constituency), House of Commons constituency between 1950 and 1974
 * Enfield North (UK Parliament constituency), House of Commons constituency since 1974
 * Enfield Southgate (UK Parliament constituency), House of Commons constituency from 1950
 * Enfield (UK Parliament constituency), House of Commons constituency between 1885 and 1950
 * Enfield West (UK Parliament constituency), House of Commons constituency between 1950 and 1974
 * London Borough of Enfield, local-authority district since 1965
 * Enfield (electoral division), Greater London Council
 * Municipal Borough of Enfield, local-authority district covering the ancient parish of Enfield between 1850 and 1965

Lancashire

 * Enfield Cricket Club, a Lancashire League cricket team

Worcestershire

 * Enfield, Worcestershire, a district of Redditch named after the former Royal Enfield headquarters

Ireland

 * Enfield, County Meath, a small town

New Zealand

 * Enfield, a small settlement in the Waitaki District

United States

 * Enfield, Connecticut
 * Enfield High School
 * Enfield, Illinois
 * Enfield, Maine
 * Enfield, Massachusetts, former town
 * Enfield, New Hampshire, a town
 * Enfield (CDP), New Hampshire, a village and census-designated place in the town
 * Enfield, New York
 * Enfield, North Carolina

Military

 * Enfield revolver
 * Lee–Enfield, magazine rifle
 * M1917 Enfield, rifle
 * Pattern 1853 Enfield, rifle musket
 * Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield
 * Snider–Enfield, a breech-loading rifle

People

 * Enfield (surname), list of people with this name

Other uses

 * Enfield (heraldry)
 * Royal Enfield, the brand of the Enfield Cycle Company, an English engineering company which made motorcycles
 * Royal Enfield (India), an Indian motorcycle company using the British Royal Enfield brand
 * Enfield Automotive
 * Enfield 8000
 * Enfield Tennis Academy, a fictional Boston-area sports academy in David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest
 * Enfield Formation, a rock unit in New York

title: Enfield


text:
Renenutet

Renenūtet (also transliterated Ernūtet, Renen-wetet, Renenet) was a goddess of grain, grapes, nourishment and the harvest in the ancient Egyptian religion. The importance of the harvest caused people to make many offerings to Renenutet during harvest time. Initially, her cult was centered in Terenuthis. Renenutet was depicted as a cobra or as a woman with the head of a cobra.

The verbs "to fondle, to nurse, or rear" help explain the name Renenutet. This goddess was a "nurse" who took care of the pharaoh from birth to death. She was also called "the mistress of provisions", "Renenutet mistress of the offerings", "Renenutet mistress of the food", and "Renenutet the venerable of the double granary", and "who maintains everybody".

She was the female counterpart of Shai, "destiny", who represented the positive destiny of the child. Renenutet was called Thermouthis or Hermouthis in Greek. She embodied the fertility of the fields (both the vegetation and the soil itself ) and was the protector of the royal office and power. She also came to be seen as a bringer of happiness, and was strongly associated with milk and breastfeeding.

Offerings to Renenutet were depicted in Egyptian wine making scenes, and shrines to her were set up in vineyards. Images of her were found in kitchens, near ovens, in granaries, and in cellars. These images often invoked her to protect food stores against insects, mice, and snakes, not just as a provider of food. Her image also appears on stamps and stoppers for wine containers.

Sometimes, as the goddess of nourishment, Renenutet was seen as having a husband, Sobek. He was represented as the Nile River, the annual flooding of which deposited the fertile silt that enabled abundant harvests. The temple of Medinet Madi is dedicated to both Sobek and Renenutet. It is a small and decorated building in the Faiyum.

More usually, Renenutet was seen as the mother of Nehebkau who occasionally was also represented as a snake. When considered the mother of Nehebkau, Renenutet was seen as having a husband, Geb, who represented the earth.

She was the mother of the god Nepri.

Later, as a snake goddess worshiped over the whole of Lower Egypt, Renenutet was increasingly associated with Wadjet, Lower Egypt's powerful protector and another snake goddess represented as a cobra. Eventually Renenutet was identified as an alternate form of Wadjet, whose gaze was said to slaughter enemies. Wadjet was the cobra shown on the crown of the pharaohs.

Renenutet was also identified with Meretseger, a cobra goddess of the Theban necropolis, and was syncretized with Isis.

title: Renenutet


text:
Serket

Serket (srqt) is the goddess of healing venomous stings and bites in Egyptian mythology, originally the deification of the scorpion. Her family life is unknown, but she is sometimes credited as the daughter of Neith and Khnum, making her a sister to Sobek and Apep.

Scorpion stings lead to paralysis and Serket's name describes this, as it means "(she who) tightens the throat"; however, Serket's name also can be read as meaning "(she who) causes the throat to breathe" and so, as well as being seen as stinging the unrighteous, Serket was seen as one who could cure scorpion stings and the effects of other venoms such as snakebites.

In the art of ancient Egypt, Serket was depicted as a scorpion (a symbol found on the earliest artifacts of the culture, such as from Naqada III) or to have the body of a scorpion but the head of a woman or as a woman with a scorpion on her head. Although Serket does not appear to have had any temples, she had a sizable number of priests in many communities.

One of the most dangerous species of scorpion, the deathstalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus) resides in North Africa and its sting may kill, so Serket was considered a highly important goddess and sometimes she was considered by pharaohs to be their patron. Her close association with the early rulers implies that she was their protector, notably Scorpion I and Scorpion II.

As the protector against venom and snakebite, Serket often was said to protect the deities from Apep, the great snake-demon of evil, sometimes being depicted as the guard when Apep was captured.

As many of the venomous creatures of Egypt could prove fatal, Serket also was considered a protector of the dead, particularly being associated with venoms and fluids causing stiffening. She was thus said to be the protector of the tents of embalmers and of the canopic jar associated with venom—the jar of the intestine—which was deified later as Qebehsenuef, one of the four sons of Horus.

As the guard of one of the canopic jars and a protector, Serket gained a strong association with Neith, Isis, and Nephthys, who also performed similar functions. Eventually, Serket began to be identified with Isis, sharing imagery and parentage, until finally, Serket was said to be merely an aspect of Isis, whose cult had become dominant.

It has been suggested that Serket's identification with a scorpion may be a misinterpretation of the determinative of her name and animal associated with her and that could refer not to a scorpion, but rather to a water scorpion (Nepidae). According to this hypothesis, Serket is referred to as "she who gives breath" because of the way water scorpions seem to breathe underwater. The appearance of a waterscorpion must have made it be associated with the scorpion, therefore the use of the goddess for curing scorpion stings and other venomous creatures or maybe exactly because she "causes to breathe", not for the physical similarities of the creatures.

title: Serket


text:
Isdes

Isdes may refer to:

 * Isdes is an alternative spelling of Astennu, a figure in Egyptian mythology
 * Isdes, Loiret is a commune in France

title: Isdes


text:
Imiut fetish

The Imiut fetish (jmy-wt) is a religious object that has been documented throughout the history of ancient Egypt. It was a stuffed, headless animal skin, often of a feline or bull. This fetish was tied by the tail to a pole, terminating in a lotus bud and inserted into a stand. The item was present in ancient Egyptian funerary rites from at least the earliest dynasties. Although its origin and purpose is unknown, the imiut fetish dates as far back as the First Dynasty (3100–2890 BC).

History
The earliest known depiction of the jmy-wt fetish is on a Predynastic lug handle dating to Naqada IIc-d, which appears to show the procedure by which intestines were extracted from a sacrificial bird and tied to the fetish. In the First Dynasty, the fetish appears on seals and labels during the reigns of kings Hor-Aha, Djer, Djet, and Den, where the jmy-wt is associated with ritual killings of prisoners. Another example found in 1914 by an expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art near the pyramid of Senusret I (c. 1971-1928 BCE) was placed in a shrine.

There are depictions of the imiut fetish on ancient Egyptian temples, and sometimes there were models of it included with the funerary equipment, most notably the two found in the burial chamber of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter. The fetish was later connected to the god Anubis and mummification around the Fourth Dynasty, so it is sometimes called the Anubis fetish.

Meaning
Logan suggests that the jmy.wt has its origin as a standard associated with kingship and transition, a pole upon which the intestines of a ritual animal sacrifice were hung. This he connects to an etymology jmy.wt "that which is inside", analogous to jmyw "tumor". In this scenario, the name was later reanalyzed as a reference to embalming after the association with Anubis.

title: Imiut fetish


text:
Ha

Ha may refer to:

Agencies and organizations

 * Health authority
 * Hells Angels Motorcycle Club
 * Highways Agency (renamed Highways England, now National Highways), UK government body maintaining England's major roads
 * Homelessness Australia, peak body organisation for homeless people and services
 * Homosexuals Anonymous an ex-gay program for dealing with unwanted same-sex attractions
 * Hong Kong Housing Authority

Arts, entertainment, and media

 * Ha (Doseone album), 2005
 * Ha (Talvin Singh album), 2002
 * Ha! (Killing Joke album), 1982
 * "Ha" (song), by Juvenile
 * Ha! (TV channel), an American all-comedy TV channel
 * Hamar Arbeiderblad, a Norwegian newspaper
 * Human Action, a book by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises
 * The Jim Henson Company, formerly known as ha!

Language

 * Ha (Javanese) (ꦲ), a letter in the Javanese script
 * Ha (kana), in syllabic Japanese script
 * ه (hāʾ), ح (ḥāʾ), or خ (ḫāʾ), Arabic letters
 * Ha language, the language of the Ha people in eastern Africa
 * Hausa language, ISO 639-1 code HA

Places

 * Ha, Bhutan
 * Hå, Norway
 * Ha Gorge, Greece
 * HA postcode area, a group of English postal districts in north-west London
 * Henan, a province of China (Guobiao abbreviation HA)

Chemistry

 * Hahnium, an element now called Dubnium
 * Hyaluronan (Hyaluronic acid), a carbohydrate structure
 * Hydroxylapatite, a mineral

Medicine

 * Hyperandrogenic anovulation, also called polycystic ovary syndrome
 * Health anxiety (HA) or hypochondriasis (hypochondria)
 * Hemagglutinin (influenza) (HA), an antigenic glycoprotein from Influenza viruses
 * Hemagglutination assay, a measurement of viruses or bacteria

Units of measure

 * Hartree, an atomic unit of energy
 * Hectare (ha), a unit of area
 * Hectoampere, a unit of electric current

Other uses in science and technology

 * ha (function prefix) (half), a prefix for some trigonometric functions in mathematics
 * High availability, systems design and implementation with a view to maximising service
 * Hour angle, in astronomy, one of the coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system
 * Ha, or alternative hypothesis, in statistical testing
 * H-alpha (Hα), a deep-red visible spectral line of the hydrogen atom

Surnames

 * Ha (Chinese surname) (哈), found in the Hundred Family Surnames
 * Ha (Korean surname) (하, 河 or 夏)
 * Hà, Vietnamese surname
 * Xia (surname) (夏), romanized as Ha in Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese pronunciation

Transportation

 * British Rail Class 71, a locomotive (classified type HA under the Southern Region's pre-TOPS scheme)
 * Hawaiian Airlines (IATA designator HA)
 * Highways Agency (now National Highways), UK government body maintaining England's major roads

Other uses

 * Ha (mythology)
 * Ha, one of deities Heng and Ha
 * Ha people, a Tanzanian people
 * Hospitalman Apprentice, a U.S. Navy rank

title: Ha


text:
Kherty

Kherty is an ancient Egyptian deity. Despite being archaeologically attested since the early 2nd Dynasty, his original mythological role during this era is unclear. Kherty was an Egyptian god of the Duat. The earliest mythological descriptions of Kherty's role do not appear until the 6th Dynasty in the Pyramid Texts.

Description
The earliest depictions of Kherty appear during the early 2nd dynasty, under king (pharaoh) Hotepsekhemwy and Raneb. He is normally shown as a recumbent and mummified ram. In rare instances he was pictured as a bull or a lion. The figurine is always guided by the hieroglyphic signs of a shamble and a bread loaf, giving a reading as kherty.

Cult
Kherty was worshipped since the early 2nd dynasty, his name appears first time on stone bowls of king Sneferka. Stone bowl inscriptions from the reign of king Peribsen mention first time the title "god servant of Kherty" (Egypt. hem-netjer Kherty). The main centre of the Kherty cult was located at Letopolis (today Ausim), a second cult centre was later founded at Nesat (exact location unknown).

Mythology
Kherty was a contradicting character: The pyramid texts reveal that he was worshipped at one side as a guide, who brought the deceased king safely to "the yonder site" by "being the ferryman". He also protected the deceased against various demons (named inmetjw in the texts) sent by Seth. The deceased king was then brought to his destination by Ra. On the other site, however, Kherty was feared as death in persona, a god that "lives on the heart of men", making them stop pounding. The pyramid texts reveal that Kherty attacked the physical heart (khat(jw)) of the dying peoples, not the metaphysical, symbolic heart (jb) as the "seat of thoughts and feelings". For this reason, a lot of spells and prayers were addressed to Kherty in attempt to befriend and please him. Other prayers beg Ra to "take the deceased king away from Kherty". These prayers also mention Osiris, the judge of the underworld. Thus, Kherty and Osiris were mythologically connected to each other.

Kherty is not mentioned in the famous Coffin Texts of Middle Kingdom period. Instead, he is replaced by a god Aker, who is now the ferryman. In the prayers of the Book of the Dead, Kherty is described as a guard who guides the celestial bark of Ra.

title: Kherty


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Aqen

Aqen was a rarely mentioned ancient Egyptian deity of the underworld. He is first mentioned in the famous Book of the Dead. There, he guided the sun god Ra as the "protector of Ra's celestial bark" by "bringing the shen-ring to his majesty". He was also described as the "mouth of the time", from which the gods and demons pulled the "rope of time", as described in the tomb of king Seti I.

title: Aqen


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Apis (deity)

In ancient Egyptian religion, Apis or Hapis, alternatively spelled Hapi-ankh, was a sacred bull or multiple sacred bulls worshiped in the Memphis region, identified as the son of Hathor, a primary deity in the pantheon of ancient Egypt. Initially, he was assigned a significant role in her worship, being sacrificed and reborn. Later, Apis also served as an intermediary between humans and other powerful deities (originally Ptah, later Osiris, then Atum).

The Apis bull was an important sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians. As with the other sacred beasts, Apis' importance increased over the centuries. During colonization of the conquered Egypt, Greek and Roman authors had much to say about Apis, the markings by which the black calf was recognized, the manner of his conception by a ray from heaven, his house at Memphis (with a court for his deportment), the mode of prognostication from his actions, his death, the mourning at his death, his costly burial, and the rejoicings throughout the country when a new Apis was found. Auguste Mariette's excavation of the Serapeum of Saqqara revealed the tombs of more than sixty animals, ranging from the time of Amenhotep III to the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Originally, each animal was buried in a separate tomb with a chapel built above it. From Ramesses II onward, bulls were interred in interconnected underground galleries.

History of worship
Worship of an Apis bull, experienced by ancient Egyptians as holy, has been known since the First Dynasty in Memphis, while worship of the Apis as a proper god, at least according to Manetho's Aegyptiaca, seems to be a later adoption, purportedly started during the reign of king Kaiechos (possibly Nebra) of the Second Dynasty.

Apis is named on very early monuments, but little is known of the divine animal before the New Kingdom. Ceremonial burials of bulls indicate that ritual sacrifice was part of the worship of the early cow deities, Hathor and Bat, and a bull might represent her offspring, a king who became a deity after death. He was entitled "the renewal of the life" of the Memphite deity Ptah: but after death, he became Osorapis, i.e. the Osiris Apis, just as dead humans were assimilated to Osiris, the ruler of the underworld. This Osorapis was identified with Serapis of the late Hellenistic period and may well be identical with him. Creating parallels to their own religious beliefs, ancient Greek writers identified Apis as an incarnation of Osiris, ignoring the connection with Ptah.

Apis was the most popular of three great bull cults of ancient Egypt, the others being the cults of Mnevis and Buchis. All are related to the worship of Hathor or Bat, similar primary goddesses separated by region until unification that eventually merged as Hathor. The worship of Apis was continued by the Greeks and after them by the Romans, and lasted until almost 400 CE.

Herald of Ptah
This animal was chosen because it symbolized the courageous heart, great strength, and fighting spirit of the king. Apis came to being considered a manifestation of the king, as bulls were symbols of strength and fertility, qualities that are closely linked with kingship. "Strong bull of his mother Hathor" was a common title for Egyptian gods and male kings, being unused for women serving as king, such as Hatshepsut.

As early as the time of the Narmer Palette, the king is depicted with a bovine tail on one side, and a bull is seen knocking down the walls of a city on the other. Occasionally, Apis was pictured with the sun-disk symbol of his mother, Hathor, between his horns, being one of few deities ever associated with her symbol. When the disk was depicted on his head with his horns below and the triangular marking on his forehead, an ankh was suggested. That symbol always was closely associated with Hathor.

Early on, Apis was the herald (wḥm) of Ptah, the chief deity in the area around Memphis. As a manifestation of Ptah, Apis also was considered to be a symbol of the king, embodying the qualities of kingship. In the region where Ptah was worshiped, cattle exhibited white patterning on their mainly black bodies, and so a belief grew up that the Apis calf had to have a certain set of markings suitable to its role. It was required to have a white triangular marking upon its forehead, a white Egyptian vulture wing outline on its back, a scarab mark under its tongue, a white crescent moon shape on its right flank, and double hairs on his tail.

The calf that matched these markings was selected from the herds, brought to a temple, given a harem of cows, and worshiped as an aspect of Ptah. The cow who was his mother was believed to have conceived him by a flash of lightning from the heavens, or from moonbeams. She also was treated specially, and given a special burial. At the temple, Apis was used as an oracle, his movements being interpreted as prophecies. His breath was believed to cure disease and his presence to bless those around with strength. A window was created in the temple through which he could be viewed and, on certain holidays, he was led through the streets of the city, bedecked with jewelry and flowers.

Burial
Details of the mummification ritual of the sacred bull are written within the Apis papyrus. Sometimes the body of the bull was mummified and fixed in a standing position on a foundation made of wooden planks.

By the New Kingdom period, the remains of the sacred bulls were interred at the cemetery of Saqqara. The earliest known burial in Saqqara was performed in the reign of Amenhotep III by his son Thutmose; afterward, seven more bulls were buried nearby. Ramesses II initiated Apis burials in what now is known as the Serapeum, an underground complex of burial chambers at Saqqara for the sacred bulls, a site used throughout the rest of Ancient Egyptian history into the reign of Cleopatra.

Khaemweset, the priestly son of Ramesses II (c. 1300 BCE), excavated a great gallery to be lined with the tomb chambers; another similar gallery was added by Psamtik I. The careful documentation of the ages of the animals in the later instances, with the regnal dates for their birth, enthronement, and death have thrown much light on the chronology from the Twenty-second Dynasty onward. The name of the mother cow and the place of the calf's birth are often recorded. The sarcophagi are of immense size and the burial must have entailed enormous expense. It is remarkable, therefore, that the ancient religious leaders contrived to bury one of the animals in the fourth year of Cambyses II.

The Apis was a protector of the deceased and linked to the pharaoh. Horns embellish some of the tombs of ancient pharaohs and Apis often was depicted on private coffins as a powerful protector. As a form of Osiris, ruler of the underworld, it was believed that to be under the protection of Apis would give the person control over the four winds in the afterlife.

From animal to human
According to Arrian, Apis was one of the Egyptian deities Alexander the Great propitiated by offering a sacrifice during his seizure of Ancient Egypt from the Persians. After Alexander's death, his general Ptolemy I Soter made efforts to integrate Egyptian religion with that of the new Hellenic rulers. Ptolemy's policy was to find a deity that might win the reverence of both groups, despite the curses of the Egyptian religious leaders against the deities of the previous foreign rulers (i.e. Set, lauded by the Hyksos). Without success, Alexander had attempted to use Amun for this purpose, but that deity was more prominent in Upper Egypt and not for those in Lower Egypt, where the Greeks had stronger influence. Since the Greeks had little respect for animal-headed deities, a Greek statue was created as an idol and proclaimed as an anthropomorphic equivalent of the highly popular Apis. It was named Aser-hapi (i.e. Osiris-Apis), which became Serapis, and later was said to represent Osiris fully, rather than just his Ka.

The earliest mention of a Serapis is in the authentic death scene of Alexander, from the royal diaries. Here, Serapis has a temple at Babylon, and is of such importance that he alone is named as being consulted on behalf of the dying Alexander. The presence of this temple in Babylon radically altered perceptions of the mythologies of this era, although it has been discovered that the unconnected Babylonian deity Ea was entitled Serapsi, meaning king of the deep, and it is Serapsi who is referred to in the diaries, not Serapis. The significance of this Serapsi in the Hellenic psyche, however, due to its involvement in Alexander's death, also may have contributed to the choice of Osiris-Apis as the chief Ptolemaic deity during their occupation of Ancient Egypt.

According to Plutarch, Ptolemy stole the statue from Sinope, having been instructed in a dream by the Unknown God to bring the statue to Alexandria, where the statue was pronounced to be "Serapis" by two religious experts. Among those experts was one of the Eumolpidae, the ancient family from which the hierophant of the Eleusinian Mysteries traditionally had been chosen since before any historical records. The other expert supposedly was the scholarly Egyptian priest Manetho, which increased acceptability from both the Egyptians and the Greeks.

Plutarch may not be correct, however, as some Egyptologists assert that the Sinope in Plutarch's report is the hill of Sinopeion, a name given to the site of an existing Serapeum at Memphis. Also, according to Tacitus, Serapis (i.e. Apis explicitly identified as Osiris in full) had been the tutelary deity of the village of Rhacotis, before it suddenly expanded into the great capital of "Alexandria".

Being introduced by the Greeks, understandably, the statue depicted a fully human figure resembling Hades or Pluto, both being kings of the Greek underworld. The figure was enthroned with the modius, which is a basket or a grain-measure, on his head, a Greek symbol for the land of the dead. He also held a sceptre, indicating rulership, and Cerberus, gatekeeper of the underworld, rested at his feet. It also had what appeared to be a serpent at its base, fitting the Egyptian symbol of sovereignty, the uraeus.

With his (i.e., Osiris') wife, Isis, and their son (at this point in history) Horus (in the form of Harpocrates), Serapis won an important place in the Greek world, reaching Ancient Rome, with Anubis being identified as Cerberus. The cult survived until 385, when Christians destroyed the Serapeum of Alexandria, and subsequently, the cult was forbidden by the Edict of Thessalonica.

Modern use
The pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk uses Apis as its logo.

In modern day Egypt, an entire district of the city of Alexandria is named after the Apis bull.

title: Apis (deity)