Big help... Very bad news!

[Gleb]

Hello everybody!
I was studying and believing in the Kemetic religion for some years.
A few minutes before I started writing I recalled a demon I read about about a year ago. I took the book where the demon was described.
It was a specific demon- called Bau. It is like a combination of a man and a dog, with long hands and wry legs. The strange thing is that this demon consists of inexplicable white flame. I know it may be mistakenly released by ruining a holy Kemetic thing.
That is what I know about this demon until now. I am a bit worried about this stuff...
If you know something, please share some information about other demons or about this Bau.
I will be very thankful.

[Corvus]

It's my understanding that a bau is a form of a deity which they take. For example the seven Hathors are bau of the goddess Hathor. So I'm unsure where one would find a demonic connotation.
In ancient Kemet demons and unclean spirits were believed to be able to be repulsed by invoking different deities through the use of mantras and spells or amulets.
Hethert-Sekhmet is a powerful protective goddess representing purification and destruction of evil who can be invoked against demons and sickness. She is extremely powerful and an excellent figure to invoke against demons.

In other practices demons and evil spirits are repulsed with salt, holy symbols, amulets, prayer and spells. Basic psychic protection such as different sorts of shields can offer defense against demons. Just as in Kemetic tradition deities are called for protection in other cultures as well.

[Gleb]

Well, from what I know- a Bau it's a bad spirit.
Well, I do have a way to protect myself. Though, when I imagine the appearance of the brat, I have a shiver running all over my body..

[monsno_leedra]

I am really lost here.

On one hand Bau is a Goddess from another culture (Sumerian = fertility) that had an influence upon Egyptian lore. Not a demon at all though possibly demonized like many other Sumerian gods / goddesses.

On the other Bau is the plural of BA which is the part of a person that lived on after the body died. Yet it is also a manifestation of the gods / goddesses in human affairs so appears to be a living aspect of the god / goddess interacting with humanity.

Yet no where other than fantasy stories and such have I found "Bau" to be a demon or evil thing. IN truth prior to this thread i've never even heard a suggestion of the BA or BAU being any form of demon or evil thing. So I am really confused as to how such a perception could be had of it.

[Gleb]

I will try to explain-
You are absolutely correct.
A Ba is a part of a soul in the egyptian culture. And a Bau is an evil being.
The difference is in one letter.

Perhaps, there is a connection with another culture, but I don't know about it.

[monsno_leedra]

I will try to explain-
You are absolutely correct.
A Ba is a part of a soul in the egyptian culture. And a Bau is an evil being.
The difference is in one letter.

Perhaps, there is a connection with another culture, but I don't know about it.

But that contradicts the sources which say a Bau is a number of Ba's. Sort of like one might see a number of Ba's on a battlefield in which case it would be Bau in describing the entirety of the scene vice saying hundreds of Ba's. Using the same scenario one might suggest a god / goddess and their many Bau's were acting upon the battlefield as they intervened in human affairs. While the action of the god / goddess might be seen as evil depending upon ones views it would not make it a demon.

About the only way I can imagine a Bau as demonic is if it is a compilation or construct of many Ba's that have united under some controlling force. In which case I suppose one might see them as some sort of undead but not a physical entity. Almost like the notion of some of the lilitu demons who stole the breath and life from children by hovering above them and stealing their spirit breath.

But as I stated the only time I find a Bau as some demonic entity has been in stories not any mythology or cultural edda or saga type writings.

Can you tell us what the book was you found your info in as I am curious about that?

[Gleb]

I don't understand your last comment, can you explain it?
The Kane Chronicles series.

[monsno_leedra]

I'm assuming your referring to the what book statement. Just wondering what the name of the book was and was curious about that. When I encountered terms being used in a way I am not familiar with I like to check out the book or material if I can. Find out if it's a new definition of a word or concept or perhaps a new approach to it. Equating it to a demonic usage to me changes the meaning of the word so just wondered where it was originating from.

[Satu]

I will try to explain-
You are absolutely correct.
A Ba is a part of a soul in the egyptian culture. And a Bau is an evil being.
The difference is in one letter.

Perhaps, there is a connection with another culture, but I don't know about it.

I can't speak to connections with other cultures, but bau can be a bit tricky to understand.

Depending on the context, a bau can be the "effectiveness" or "manifestation" of a Netjer. For example, when Bast is a ba of Aset in connection with the Nile inundation.

According to Erik Hornung in Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt:

This b'w [bau] can "manifest itself" [h'j], and in all clear examples means an efficacy that emanates from the deity; at first it has a quite positive impact on the world, but in later periods, it becomes quite negative.

and:

It seems certain that the b'w [bau] always refers to an active, visible side of the divine person, and is the vehicle, and perhaps also the cause, of the actions of the gods, just as visible activity is important in the conception of the ba.

(Reference pgs 61 - 62)

The latter form is the "demon" form. The bau of a Netjer could be "upon" a person, much like a poltergeist. These bau seemed to be able to cause anything from a vague sense of dread and guilt to madness and death. When we occasionally read of Netjeru making people "see darkness", I imagine it's the bau that make it happen.

For what it's worth, I've experienced some bau on the minor side of the spectrum. They're not fun. I shudder at the thought of doing something vile enough to get a bau on the nastier side of the spectrum.

[Gleb]

I can't speak to connections with other cultures, but bau can be a bit tricky to understand.

Depending on the context, a bau can be the "effectiveness" or "manifestation" of a Netjer. For example, when Bast is a ba of Aset in connection with the Nile inundation.

According to Erik Hornung in Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt:



and:



(Reference pgs 61 - 62)

The latter form is the "demon" form. The bau of a Netjer could be "upon" a person, much like a poltergeist. These bau seemed to be able to cause anything from a vague sense of dread and guilt to madness and death. When we occasionally read of Netjeru making people "see darkness", I imagine it's the bau that make it happen.

For what it's worth, I've experienced some bau on the minor side of the spectrum. They're not fun. I shudder at the thought of doing something vile enough to get a bau on the nastier side of the spectrum.

ok, but what can you say about the description of this brat?

It is like a combination of a man and a dog, with long hands and wry legs. The strange thing is that this demon consists of inexplicable white flame. I know it may be mistakenly released by ruining a holy Kemetic thing.

It seems to be quiet creepy (sorta)....
Again, my knowledge is based on 1 serial of books, so I need your advice.