Here is our beautiful local Sheela-na-Gig.
Sheela-na-Gigs are architectural grotesques that depict a woman showing an exaggerated vulva. They are found throughout most of Europe, and first appeared between the 11th and 15th Century, depending on location.
They are common in Ireland, Britain, France and Spain, with Ireland having the highest concentration of surviving Sheela-na-Gigs. It is believed that there were over 140 Sheela-na-Gigs in Britain and Ireland, with about 80 still in their original locations, including this one.
They may have represented fertility figures, or been used to ward off death, evil, and demons. A popular hypothesis is that they represented a pagan goddess, but the situation is complex, with multiple interpretations.
Some suggest that they were used as ‘birthing stones’, and there is some folkloric evidence to suggest that they were loaned to labouring women. Another theory suggests that they warned against lust and ‘sins of the flesh’. What we do know is that scholars generally disagree on the origins and uses of these figures.
The villagers here can’t have liked her very much. She was found around 1920, upside down, being used as a step into the church, hidden from view. She is now around the back of the church, being battered by the elements, but at least she is now uncovered.
I like to place flowers by her at Beltane., I feel she should be honoured, as should fertility, life, female sexual energy, and women everywhere.
