The Ka

by Mary Deal

  “When did you drink that spell, Chione?” Kenneth asked. He spoke like a person intending to discredit what he could not believe.

  “We hadn't been here two weeks,” Chione said. “Not quite four months ago.” The team seemed confused by Kenneth's disruptions. “On this last trip, we had a prenatal test done.”

  “Amniocentesis?” Marlowe asked. She shivered erratically. “Isn't that where they stick a needle—?”

  “Drinking a spell had nothing to do with it,” Kenneth said angrily. He stood, paced again. It was almost hilarious to watch him.

  “Right and wrong,” Chione said. “I now know that drinking the spell was only ritual acceptance and amniocentesis validated it.”

  “With the DNA,” Aaron said.

  With the mention of DNA everyone came to attention. With what they knew about Randy's involvement with DNA, Chione sensed pieces of the puzzle coming together in each of their minds.

  Aaron pulled some papers out of his notebook and spread them on the tabletop. “When Chione and I were in Cairo, when we got married, we had Randy do our personal DNA prints.” He paused, letting the others absorb slowly. The pages contained columns with small soft rectangular spots clearly but sporadically marked. “Check these out,” he said, pointing. “This one is Chione's and this one is mine.” Then he laid another two pages just below those. “Randy already had copies of Tutankhamon's and now Tauret's, from her teeth.” Everyone looked closely.

  “The reason I decided to have amniocentesis is that the amniotic fluid contains cells sloughed off by the fetus.”

  “We had our baby's DNA printed as well,” Aaron said. Just the word baby made some gasp.

  Bebe's hands shook. She dropped her fork. She knew! Marlowe gave her husband a sideways glance, anticipating that he was about to be hit with irrefutable proof that she and Aaron were being honest; irrefutable DNA proof in which the good Dr. Withers believed whole-heartedly. Marlowe glowed in the revelation of participating in another paranormal experience.

  Kenneth sat, unblinking, in denial. “Tell me again how long ago you did do that spell.”

  “Just under four months ago.”

  Aaron separated Tauret and Tut's charts and slid another sheet of prints in between. “This one's from our baby.”

  Everyone studied the new page. Kenneth saw it first. Then Clifford noticed and elbowed Dr. Withers. “Looks like you got your psychic reading just in time, Sterling,” Clifford said. “Hope you understand what's going on here.”

  “If you'll notice,” Chione said as she pointed to the charts, “Our baby's DNA doesn't match Aaron's or mine in the least.”

  “But look,” Aaron said, pointing to the similarities. “It's a perfect match between Tauret and Tutankhamon.”

  They all pounced upon the prints and sent dishes and other tableware flying. You would think they had just received a list of lotto winners knowing one of them was on it. After taking a good look, the group quieted, took their seats, and stared at her and Aaron.

  Dr. Withers stared out through the tent fly with a strange look of knowing glimmering in his eyes. After a while, he sat forward, adjusted his gallibaya and then quietly said, “It took a lot of lifetimes for each of us to come together again.” His voice had a strange otherworldly ring to it.

  Clifford took a deep breath, like he could not get enough air. He seemed exhausted. He rubbed his temples and said, “I was hoping we wouldn't have to die yet again before this kid was born.” His voice sounded familiar, but it was not Clifford's voice.

  “So we're to believe because of this spell you did just after we arrived here, you're now four months pregnant?” Kenneth asked.

  Tauret was pregnant almost through the second trimester. Chione thought of the Cairo doctor's recent shocking diagnosis that confirmed the very first time she felt ill. It was about the time the onslaught of dreams that ultimately brought the team to Egypt began; two months before anyone left for Egypt. Unbeknownst to her, Tauret's spells were already implanted.

  “Four months we've been here. You're saying four months?” Kenneth asked again.

  “No. It started with the first dream I had, even before I told anyone about my dreams that brought us all here,” Chione said. She rubbed her hand lovingly across her belly. “I'm six months.”

  Glossary

  18th Dynasty – During the New Kingdom period, 1570 – 1070 BC

  Akhenaten – Heretic tenth Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, 1352-1336 B.C., possibly Tutankhamon's half-brother or his father

  Akhen – Translates to “he who serves the sun”

  Akhetaten – Name for the town that Akhenaten built for worshippers of the Aten. Located in Tel el Amarna

  Akhet – Translates to “Horizon of the Aten,” based on how the sun rose over the distant hills, as seen from Tel el Amarna, the town Akhenaten built

  Al-Qurn – Pyramid Mountain, Peak of the West. Believed to be a natural pyramid placed by Ancient Gods, which led the Ancient Egyptians to choose Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens for royal burial sites

  Amarnian figures – Statues and etchings from Akhenaten's era, at Tel el-Amarna and other locations, show both men and women with full rounded stomachs, hips and thighs

  Amniocentesis – Needle procedure to draw amniotic fluid to test cells sloughed off by the fetus

  Amulet – Carved figurine of various life forms, or other symbolic trinkets

  Ankh – The symbolic representation of both Physical and Eternal life. It is known as the original cross, which is a powerful symbol created by Africans in Ancient Egypt. The Ankh is commonly known to mean life in the language of Ancient Kemet (land of the Blacks) renamed Egypt by the Greeks. A symbol for the power to give and sustain life, the Ankh is typically associated with material things such as water (which was believed by Egyptians to regenerate life), air, sun, as well as with the Gods, who are frequently pictured carrying an Ankh. The Egyptian king is often associated with the Ankh also, either in possession of an Ankh (providing life to his people) or being given an Ankh (or stream of Ankhs) by the Gods. Numerous examples have been found that were made from metal, clay and wood. It is usually worn as an amulet to extend the life of the living and placed on the mummy to energize the resurrected spirit. The Gods and the Kings are often shown carrying the Ankh to distinguish them from mere mortals. The Ankh symbolized eternal life and bestowed immortality on anyone who possessed it. It is believed that life energy emanating from the Ankh can be absorbed by anyone within certain proximity. An Ankh serves as an antenna or conduit for the divine power of life that permeates the universe. The amulet is a powerful talisman that provides the wearer with protection from the evil forces of decay and degeneration.

  Ankhesenpa – Also, Ankhesenpa-Aten or Ankhesenamun. Tutankhamon's only wife.

  Armed Guard – Questionable group of area police who wear gallibayas and look like the laborers

  Aspergillus Niger – A pathogenic fungus or mold with black spores that causes infection in the ears

  Aysh – Arabic or Egyptian pita-type bread made from white flour. An alternative is made from coarse whole-wheat, which is called aysh baladi. The most common way to eat the aysh is to stuff it with bean paste and eat it as a sandwich.

  Bebaghanoug – Eggplant paste

  Bersim – A grain, grown as fodder for livestock

  Beq – Symbol of a pregnant woman

  Bilharzia – Potentially life-threatening infection caused by drinking water tainted with schistosomes, a by-product of snails

  Giovani Battista Belzoni – Weightlifter-turned-explorer in the early Nineteenth Century, who damaged or destroyed a lot of tombs and valuable history while using strong-arm methods of getting to the artifacts

  Bolis – Common term for the official Egyptian Police Force, who wear white uniform tunics over dark trousers

  Birket Habu – An important archaeological site located at the southern end of the Necropolis of Thebes. This was the town and palace site of Amenhotep III of the Eig
hteenth Dynasty, along with the Palace of Malkatta with its man-made lake. The complex included a large number of buildings, courts and parade grounds, houses for the inhabitants, and a large temple of Amon as well as the royal palaces.

  Cache of royal mummies – See “Victor Loret.”

  Canopic jars – Central to ancient Egyptian religious beliefs was the need to preserve the body. The ancient Egyptians developed a method of artificial preservation, called mummification. Mummification was a complicated and lengthy process that lasted up to 70 days. It began with the body being delivered to the embalmer. He would then bathe the body and lay it out. In preparation, the priests would shave their entire bodies and the priest in charge would wear the mask of a jackal representing the god Anubis. At this point, the brains were removed through the nostrils and discarded, and then an incision was made in the side of the body. All of the major organs were removed and placed in canopic jars. Four organs to be removed each time, with four canopic jars to guard them. The organs were placed in the following jars: Lungs went into the jar with the head of Hapi (baboon); stomach into the jar with the head of Duamutefla (dog); liver in the jar with the head of Imseti (human); and, intestines into jar with the head of Qebehsenuef (falcon).

  Capstan – A broad revolving cylinder for winding a heavy rope or cable

  Cartouche – Usually a small rectangular shaped impression with rounded corners; contains symbols translating to the owner's name. The outer band symbolized continuity, which enclosed a god's or pharaoh's name. Its use was not unlike a modern logo.

  Copts – The Copts are the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians who accepted Christianity in the First Century. Copt was derived from the word Aigyptos, which meant Egypt in Greek. The Arabs who invaded Egypt in 641 AD corrupted the word. The Arabs, then, couldn't pronounce it as such and instead they pronounced it as Gypt or Kipt. To them, they called Egypt, the Land of the Kipt, or Copt.

  Jean-Francois Champollion – 1790-1832, French Egyptologist, acknowledged as the father of modern Egyptology. Best known for his work interpreting the Rosetta Stone, which led to translations of hieroglyphs. It was his deciphering of the hieroglyphics contained on the Stone that laid the foundations for Egyptian archaeology.

  Chateau d-Egypte Rose' – A modern-day Egyptian wine

  Cloak – Usually worn by women, similar to a vest. It did not have sleeves but did have armholes. The front was fastened around and under or over the breasts and sometimes attached to the front of the skirt.

  Coffinettes – Small hollowed, carved figurines, into which was placed the deceased's internal organs; the figurines then inserted into the canopic jars

  Cowry shells – Represented a desire of the wearer to bare children

  Dado – Chamber lower walls or pedestals covered with gypsum plaster and painted yellow

  Dakarai – Happy

  Dier el-Bahri – Discovered in 1743 on the West Bank of the Nile. The funeral Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, (1490 BC-1468BC), was built by the architect Senenmut. Located South of Valley of the Kings in the Necropolis of Thebes.

  Dier el-Medina – Southwest of Dier el-Bahri. From the New Kingdom. In Arabic meaning monastery of the city, was also known by workmen as Pa demi, simply, the town, though it was also called Set Maa, the place of truth. It is one of the most well preserved ancient settlements in all Egypt. It lies within the Necropolis of Thebes between Dier el-Bahri and Valley of the Queens. It was a highly skilled community of craftsmen who passed their expertise on from father to son, all dedicated to building the great tombs of the Egyptian Kings and Queens. The community included the workmen and their wives, children and other dependents, as well as coppersmiths, carpenters, potters, basket makers, and a part time physician. The workers belonged to what we today call the middle class, having no royal or noble connections.

  Diorite – Hardest stone in nature. Igneous rock similar to granite but with less quartz. Normal rock contains light-colored white and pink feldspar and dark biotite and hornblende minerals, giving it a salt and pepper appearance. The rock crystallized slowly, deep beneath the surface, indicated by the coarse grains.

  Djed – A djed-pillar amulet. The Tet(Djed)-pillar was one of the most significant symbols of the Egyptian religion. It symbolized the idea of stability and duration. This symbol may well have been an ancient fetish that was adopted by the Osiris cult. It came to be regarded as the backbone of the god, and later as a representation of Osiris himself. Some interpretations claim that it represents columns imitating a bundle of stalks tied together or is derived from sheaves of rushes or similar vegetable growths, lengthened by the expedient of inserting one bundle inside another and firmly tying the neck of each sheaf to prevent the next slipping within it. While some saw in the Tet(Djed) an architectural support without any meaning, others found mystical interpretations for this symbol that have purely theological concepts. It was suggested that it represented the mother goddess Hathor, pregnant with the god or king, since she was referred to, in a late text, as the female Tet(Djed)-pillar, who concealed Ra from his enemies. Whereas in the Osirian myth, Osiris was concealed in a pillar.

  Douceur – The gentle sweetness of the local people

  Egyptian Zodiac – Egypt was one of the first cultures to devise a zodiac—a series of animals along the sun's path through the sky. Important animals in the zodiac included the hippo and alligator among others. Gods and goddesses were also included.

  Faience – Egyptian faience is a glazed, non-clay ceramic material. It is composed mainly of quartz with amounts of lime and natron or plant ash. The body of a faience creation is coated with soda-lime silica glaze. Adding different metals and their oxides causes color changes. The glazed composition can be modeled into the shape of an amulet or bowl or vase. Sometimes the molding is done by hand. Faience was not used as an inexpensive substitute for more costly materials but for its association with light and rebirth.

  Falaafil – Deep fried patties of minced beans, mixed with a variety of spices

  Farseekh – Dried fish

  Fellahin – Farmers along the Nile. DNA tests add evidence that farmers along the Nile are the closest relatives of the laborers and workers who built the Pyramids. When the inundation occurred, farmers could not work the fields and went, instead, to help build the pyramids.

  Felucca – Thirty-foot sailing boats on the Nile

  Fenogreek – A wild plant that has a mild bitter chlorophyll taste, refreshing and tasty and very uncommon

  Ful medames – Fava beans

  Fuul – Beans for human consumption

  Gallibaya – Ankle length tunic, common dress of Egyptian men, sometimes worn over regular clothing

  Hamitic – The Egyptians are a fairly homogeneous people of Hamitic origin: Mediterranean and Arab influences appear in the north, and there is some mixing in the south with the Nubians of northern Sudan. Ethnic minorities include a small number of Bedouin Arab nomads in the eastern and western deserts and in the Sinai, as well as some 50,000-100,000 Nubians clustered along the Nile in Upper Egypt.

  Hapi's mud – Ancient Egyptians knew the black mud found along the banks of the Nile River to be fertile and made crops grow. They used the mud as a treatment, applied to the faces of women who had difficulty conceiving. Hapi was probably a Predynastic name for the Nile. As a water god, Hapi was a deity of fertility - he provided water, food and the yearly inundation of the Nile. He was also known as Lord of the Fishes and Birds of the Marshes, indicating that he provided these creatures to the Egyptians along with the Nile itself. Without Hapi, Egypt would have died, and so he was sometimes revered even above Ra, the sun god. The depiction of Hapi himself, though, was that of a rather well fed, blue or green man with the false beard of the pharaoh on his chin. Other than showing his status as a god of fertility by his color, the Egyptians showed Hapi as having rather large breasts, like those of a mother with a baby.

  Helva – Sweet tahini rich in sesames and walnut or pistachios; when mixed with herbs like fenogree
k, used for medicinal purposes

  Horus – The god, Horus, had a body of a man and a head of a hawk. Thus the markings of a hawk eye for the wadjet amulet

  Ini-Herit – Related to royalty

  Iniuts – Lotus blossom buds

  Jibade – Related to royalty

  Ka – Spirit. Egyptians believed that part of the personality, called the Ka, remained in the tomb.

  Kamuzu – Medical, as in Kamuzu University. University for Medicine

  Karkade – A red hibiscus tea that can be drunk hot or cold.

  Karnak – The Temple of Karnak was actually three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples, located in Thebes.

  Khamsin wind – Violent sandstorm, also known as the Wind of 50 Days. Usually occurs from February to April.

  Khepri – Morning sun

  Kheperu-Ra – See Neb-Kheperu-Ra Tutankh-Amon

  Khufu – Also known as Cheops, second Pharaoh of The Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty, 2613-2494 B.C. The Great Pyramid at Giza was built for this Pharaoh.

  King Tut – See Tutankhamon or Neb-Kheperu-Ra Tutankh-Amon

  Kohl – Thick dark eye paint, which deflected sunlight

  Koushari – A mix of macaroni and rice, chickpeas and lentils in oil

  Kilt – Short pleated skirts worn by men and boys

  Lateen sails – Triangular sails on feluccas

  Lord Carnarvon – Patron of Howard Carter's expedition that discovered Tutankhamon's tomb in 1922

  Luxor – The present-day name for the ancient city of Thebes

  Victor Loret – On March 9, 1898, Victor Loret found the tomb of Amenhotep II - which had provided safety for another cache of royal mummies for around 3000 years. In an antechamber, Loret found an unwrapped mummy laid on a ceremonial boat. In a side-room of the main burial chamber, he found three unwrapped and badly damaged mummies. And in another side room he was stunned to find the bodies of no less than 8 Pharaohs: Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep III, Seti II, Siptah, Merneptah, and Rameses IV, V and VI. The mummies from tomb #DB320 were moved to Cairo, but it took a modern-day robbery in the tomb of another Pharaoh, Amenhotep II, to encourage the authorities to move the mummies to the relative safety of the Cairo Museum. As the mummies were transported down the Nile, villagers along the Nile banks wailed, shot guns and threw dirt on their heads: all a sign of respect, not only for the dead, but for royalty.