A new story is pending
Mar. 7th, 2006 07:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittchaosYup, although the particular plot kuriboh that bit me required me to do some research. I tried to put as much pertinent information into the story as I could, but some of the concepts are so distinctly different from modern ones that I had a choice: info-dump in the story (UG!) or a block of rather extensive author's notes at the beginning (UG! But to a lesser degree).
I opted for the latter. Since ff.net does not permit URLs even in author's notes, I expanded upon them a bit here, and provided links if anyone were interested in looking at the source material.
The Ancient Egyptian Concept of the Soul
Ka - As used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! canon, ka was something of a person's spirit, or even a "guardian angel" (as in the case of Kisara - though she used her ka to protect Seto). Mahaad's ka seemed to function in this way, placing itself between Diabond and Mahaad a few times during their battle. With Mahaad, there was something of the idea that his ka was also part of his personal power, as well as a guardian force.
Ba - To simplify this story, and be more in accord with the Yu-Gi-Oh! canon, I'm using ba simply as "soul". My apologies to Egyptian purists who know this is far too much of an over-simplification of the concept.
Yb - From my research, this appears to be a spiritual heart, rather than the physical one (though that was quite important as well). A person's yb was considered to be his moral center, the source of good and evil within that person, and perhaps the most important part of that person. As we generally consider our truest selves to exist within our minds, it appears ancient Egyptians believed that one's truest self dwelt within his yb, or heart.
Ren - This is one's true name. It was so important, conveying power over a person who knew it, that it seems Egyptians would hide it from others by using nicknames their entire lives. Since I prefer the idea that one needs to discover one's own true name, even Mahaad does not know it!
Akh - It was believed that if one successfully passed the weighing of the heart, one's ka and ba were united into one, becoming akh. Akhu (the plural for this word) had many abilities, not the least of which was passing into the Fields of the Blessed to live with the gods.
The Book of the Dead, The Judgement of the Dead, Ma'at
Ma'at and the judging of the heart - Ma'at is the concept that there is a universal order which dispells chaos. Ma'at is also the proper name of a goddess, the goddess of truth, order and balance. One's yb (heart) was weighed against either Ma'at herself, or her feather, as a way to judge how good or evil that person had been during life. If one's heart was weighed down by sins, it would not balance against the feather, and Anubis would feed that heart to Ammut, giving that person over to final death.
Anubis - Despite the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie, Anubis was not a god of evil or death. In fact, he was the friend of the dead, having devised the rituals that helped ensure the dead person's body would be properly preserved, and that the person's heart would not betray him during the judgement. I've decided to make Anubis Mahaad's personal patron deity, as Mahaad had been given the task of ensuring the sanctity of the pharaoh's tomb.
Wepwawet - Another jackal-headed deity, who might in fact be another aspect of Anubis, his task was to carefully lead the dead safely through many trials (gates, actually) to the Halls of Ma'ati where the weighing of that person's heart took place.
Maahes - A lion-headed deity who was a god of war. As with many of the Egyptian deities, and distinctly unlike Greek or Roman deities, Maahes has several spheres of influence. I decided to make Maahes an important deity to Mahaad's family in this story.
As always, whenever I venture into actual Egyptian mythology in my stories, many thanks to Lucidscreamer. Your willingness to help me with research into all things ancient Egyptian is an invaluable resource to me!
I'm halfway through the second to last chapter, so expect the story to be posted as soon as I've finished writing it (and reviewing it, tweaking it, spell-checking it, angsting over it, rereading it, etc). I should start posting it by the end of the week, I believe.
I opted for the latter. Since ff.net does not permit URLs even in author's notes, I expanded upon them a bit here, and provided links if anyone were interested in looking at the source material.
The Ancient Egyptian Concept of the Soul
Ka - As used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! canon, ka was something of a person's spirit, or even a "guardian angel" (as in the case of Kisara - though she used her ka to protect Seto). Mahaad's ka seemed to function in this way, placing itself between Diabond and Mahaad a few times during their battle. With Mahaad, there was something of the idea that his ka was also part of his personal power, as well as a guardian force.
Ba - To simplify this story, and be more in accord with the Yu-Gi-Oh! canon, I'm using ba simply as "soul". My apologies to Egyptian purists who know this is far too much of an over-simplification of the concept.
Yb - From my research, this appears to be a spiritual heart, rather than the physical one (though that was quite important as well). A person's yb was considered to be his moral center, the source of good and evil within that person, and perhaps the most important part of that person. As we generally consider our truest selves to exist within our minds, it appears ancient Egyptians believed that one's truest self dwelt within his yb, or heart.
Ren - This is one's true name. It was so important, conveying power over a person who knew it, that it seems Egyptians would hide it from others by using nicknames their entire lives. Since I prefer the idea that one needs to discover one's own true name, even Mahaad does not know it!
Akh - It was believed that if one successfully passed the weighing of the heart, one's ka and ba were united into one, becoming akh. Akhu (the plural for this word) had many abilities, not the least of which was passing into the Fields of the Blessed to live with the gods.
The Book of the Dead, The Judgement of the Dead, Ma'at
Ma'at and the judging of the heart - Ma'at is the concept that there is a universal order which dispells chaos. Ma'at is also the proper name of a goddess, the goddess of truth, order and balance. One's yb (heart) was weighed against either Ma'at herself, or her feather, as a way to judge how good or evil that person had been during life. If one's heart was weighed down by sins, it would not balance against the feather, and Anubis would feed that heart to Ammut, giving that person over to final death.
Anubis - Despite the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie, Anubis was not a god of evil or death. In fact, he was the friend of the dead, having devised the rituals that helped ensure the dead person's body would be properly preserved, and that the person's heart would not betray him during the judgement. I've decided to make Anubis Mahaad's personal patron deity, as Mahaad had been given the task of ensuring the sanctity of the pharaoh's tomb.
Wepwawet - Another jackal-headed deity, who might in fact be another aspect of Anubis, his task was to carefully lead the dead safely through many trials (gates, actually) to the Halls of Ma'ati where the weighing of that person's heart took place.
Maahes - A lion-headed deity who was a god of war. As with many of the Egyptian deities, and distinctly unlike Greek or Roman deities, Maahes has several spheres of influence. I decided to make Maahes an important deity to Mahaad's family in this story.
As always, whenever I venture into actual Egyptian mythology in my stories, many thanks to Lucidscreamer. Your willingness to help me with research into all things ancient Egyptian is an invaluable resource to me!
I'm halfway through the second to last chapter, so expect the story to be posted as soon as I've finished writing it (and reviewing it, tweaking it, spell-checking it, angsting over it, rereading it, etc). I should start posting it by the end of the week, I believe.
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Date: 2006-03-07 04:11 pm (UTC)YAY! for new stories!! *does new story happy dance*