It would be presumptuous to claim in good conscience that the ancient deity we know today as Bes is the primordial deity of the African continent. Nevertheless, without going too far, we can state firmly that Bes is among the very first divine figures that human beings ever worshipped.

We know him as Bes because that is the name the Egyptians gave to this deity, but it would not be surprising if he bore many other names across different African societies.

In the depictions that have come down to us, Bes often wears a feathered headdress and a leopard skin, and displays an oversized phallus while sticking out his tongue.

A deity of Music, Dance and Joy, Bes embodies only positive values in ancient Egyptian culture. He bears swords and knives but also musical instruments.

Despite his unattractive look and his exuberance, Bes was worshipped throughout the Nile Valley as a sort of guardian spirit of the home. He was a benevolent god who could drive away evil spirits.

Bes was also worshipped as a deity of sexuality, fertility and pregnancy. He was the protector of sleep, considered a state of extreme vulnerability in which the individual is at the mercy of dangerous forces.

Often described as a bearded dwarf with coarse features and a broad, cheerful face, Bes’s appearance stands in striking contrast to that of the other gods of Egypt.

Always shown face on where other deities were often depicted in profile, Bes’s physical appearance is so distinct that even a novice could deduce that his presence in the Egyptian pantheon might stem from an outside influence.

Bes is so ancient that Molefi Kete Asante says of him:

“he stands at the gate of man’s first achievements in sculpting images that reflect the human community’s most intense desires to communicate with the mysterious”.

Some researchers have drawn a connection between the atypical character of Bes and the Twa (or Mbunti) of the interior of the continent. The Twa are a Pygmy people found mainly west of the Great Lakes region and in the highlands around Lake Kivu.

The Egyptians evidently held this people in high esteem, regarding its members as magical beings who had not only a physical appearance they found entertaining but also, and above all, a real spiritual significance.

Speculation has suggested that the discovery of the Twa, whose physical appearance contrasts completely with non-Pygmy peoples, by other African civilisations could have been at the origin of the creation of the Bes myth.

It is interesting to note that, when studying many oral traditions, it is not rare to hear of peoples who claim that the original inhabitants of their region were dwarf communities their forebears had met along the path of their migrations.

Although these first populations were later erased by their invaders, it is not impossible to suppose that the newcomers took great interest in these natives, both in their way of life and their physical appearance, and honoured them through the myth of Bes.

All of this is of course pure speculation. What is certain is that over time, Bes became the champion of everything good and the enemy of everything bad. He seems to have been originally known in the Egyptian pantheon as “Aha” (“fighter”) because he could strangle bears, lions and snakes with his bare hands.

He is described as a demon, but he was not considered evil at all. On the contrary, he was a supporter of Ra, who protected him from his enemies.

Although at his appearance in the pantheon of Kemet under the 12th Dynasty he was at first the protector of the pharaoh, he later became very popular with the Egyptian common people because he protected women and children above all.

That is how Bes became the god of childbirth. It was thought he could frighten the evil spirits lurking around the birthing chamber by dancing, shouting and shaking his rattle. If the mother had a difficult labour, a statue of Bes was placed near her head and his help was invoked on her behalf.

In a rather gentle way, Bes stayed by the child’s side after birth to protect and entertain it. It was said that if a baby laughed or smiled for no reason, it was because Bes was making faces.

In this sense, Bes is the quintessence of what an African god represents, because he provided for many daily needs.

In the history of humanity, and even more so in that of the First Humans, the first challenge a human being faces is survival at birth. Survival for the child first, but survival for the mother too.

Since time immemorial, people have prayed to the sky and to supernatural forces in this mysterious ordeal, filled with both magic and uncertainty. It is quite natural that Bes, as a deity linked to pregnancy, rose to the rank of one of the most important deities in the daily life of the inhabitants of the Nile Valley.

Bes had no temples and no priest was ordained in his name, but he was one of the most popular gods. His over-representation in engravings on everyday objects bears witness to this.

Archaeologists have found many Bes masks and costumes dating from the New Kingdom. They are thought to have been used regularly and may therefore have belonged to professional performers.

An international team of scientists set out to better understand the belief systems, cultural practices and use of natural resources of the ancient Egyptians. To do so, it examined the mysterious contents of a vessel from the collection of the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida, United States.

About 2,200 years old, this vessel was a ritual vase in the shape of Bes’s head.

“As Bes was worshipped as a protective spirit, it can be assumed that the liquid drunk from these cups was considered beneficial”, the researchers add.

Inside, they found the remains of a concoction containing a number of compounds: Peganum harmala (also called Syrian rue), Nymphaea caerulea (or Egyptian blue lotus) and plants of the genus Cleome, “which are traditionally proven to have psychotropic and medicinal properties”.

They also identified traces of human fluids within it, suggesting the “direct involvement” of people in potential rituals. Indeed, the various analyses carried out revealed a rather complex composition for the contents of the Bes vase.

Peganum harmala stands out first. This plant has seeds that “induce dream-like visions”, the researchers note in their study. They also contain, in small quantity, the alkaloid vasicine, which at certain doses can ease childbirth or cause abortion.

But was the consumption of hallucinogenic liquids part of the usual practices of the cult of Bes? Further research will be needed to find out to what extent the recipe of this curious vessel may have been used, in Egypt and elsewhere.

It is known that Bes was represented in Egyptian statuary and engraving more and more often as the Egyptians found themselves invaded by other peoples. It was during the Ptolemaic period that the cult of Bes reached its peak.

He appears on many reliefs in temples, and thousands of amulets and charms were made in his image.

The Romans also loved Bes and depicted him dressed as a legionary. He later became a popular figure among the Phoenicians and in Cyprus.

Bes was thus one of the most beloved and present deities in the daily life of ancient Egypt. As populations moved across the continent and even the world, Bes’s protection and duties grew, continually answering the psychological needs of Africans.

However, his role as an all-purpose god ironically kept him from becoming a high figure of the mythological tradition we remember today.

Today’s popular culture still struggles to grasp the great admiration he inspired among the inhabitants of the Nile Valley.

But in the heart of a mother, a father or a child, Bes was probably the most cherished god.