Bennu

The Bird of Rebirth

Its name may be related to an Egyptian verb meaning 'to rise' or 'to shine'. In creation traditions from Heliopolis, the first land rose from the endless waters of Nun. The Bennu came to rest on the primeval mound or on a sacred benben stone and gave a cry that helped mark the beginning of creation. Other accounts connected the bird with a willow tree. Egyptian myths existed in several versions, so there was no single official scene every town had to repeat. The Bennu was called the ba of Ra or a form through which the Sun god's power appeared. A ba was an aspect of a person or deity that could move and act, often shown as a bird with a human head when it belonged to a dead person.

Because the Sun rose every morning, the Bennu naturally represented renewal. Its presence at Heliopolis also linked it with Atum, the creator god who emerged at the start of the world. Funerary texts connected the Bennu with Osiris, who was killed and restored to a new form of life. A dead person using spells from the Book of the Dead could say, 'I am the Bennu bird', claiming the ability to transform, travel and be renewed. One spell identifies the Bennu as the one who came into being by itself. These words did not mean the person became an ordinary heron. They joined the dead with a sacred pattern of rebirth. Artists probably based its image on a real heron seen beside the Nile. Herons stand still in shallow water, then lift into the air with wide wings.

Their return to wetlands could suggest the renewed fertility brought by water. However, the exact species shown is debated. Scientists named an extinct, very large heron found in the United Arab Emirates the Bennu heron. That modern name is interesting, but it does not prove the ancient bird inspired the myth. The Greek phoenix became famous as a bird that dies in fire and rises from its ashes. Greek and Roman writers connected the phoenix with Egypt and Heliopolis, so ideas about the Bennu probably contributed to its development. Yet surviving Egyptian sources do not give the Bennu the familiar complete ashes story.

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