25. Thoth as Babi
A deity somrtimes present for the weighing-of-the-heart ceremony is , is the geity Thoth perched on the standard of the scale and mastering the balance as a member of the judgment ennead in the Hall of Ma'at. The image of the boboon at Deir el Bahari could be that of Thoth, but there is also another possible canidate, a baboon called Babi. Baboons were admired in Egypt for their intelligence and were considered solar animals, but Babi was a deity who consumed human entrails and played a similar role as Ammit, a devourer of the unworthy heart in the Hall of Ma’at.
The simulacrum of the baboon deity Babi at Deir el Bahari is very unusual because the head and body are not connected. The body of Babi is in one location, and the head is above and behind the body on the hillside. In order to bring the head and body Babi together a point of view from the causway is best.
