In ancient Egyptian funerary belief, the soul made effective after successful burial rites was called the akh. The akh represented a transformed and effective spiritual state that could exist in the afterlife and interact with the living.
Egyptian ideas of the person included several components. The ba was a mobile soul aspect often shown as a human-headed bird, while the ka was a vital force sustained through offerings. The akh emerged when the proper rites, prayers, and postmortem transformation succeeded.
The akh was not simply another word for ghost or soul in the modern sense. Egyptian texts used related terms for different dimensions of identity, vitality, and transformation. Funerary rituals, including the Opening of the Mouth, helped establish the conditions for the deceased to function effectively beyond death.