BENNU

The Egyptian Bennu is a bird. In the age of the pyramids, it was represented as a yellow wagtail, but it later became very like a heron with red legs and two long feathers growing from its head. Its name comes from the verb weben meaning ‘to shine’ or ‘to rise brilliantly’. A papyrus of the 21st dynasty says of the Bennu that it is ‘the one who came into being by itself’. It symbolizes the anticipated rebirth of the soul in the Underworld and was carved onto the backs of scarab amulets buried with mummified bodies. This ensures that the heart does not fail the test of the deceased’s past deeds in the Judgement Hall of the Two Truths. It is also a symbol of the sun god Ra, celebrating the sun’s rebirth every dawn. According to legend, the Bennu arises from a burning tree, singing such a melodious song that the gods are transported by its sound. Its legend informs the legend of the Phoenix, as related by Herodotus who visited Egypt in the 5th century BC. He wrote of the sacred bird of Heliopolis which, every 500 years, carries its dead predecessor from Arabia to the sun god’s temple.