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Deer have significant roles in the mythology of various peoples located all over the world. ==Celtic== The Insular Celts have stories involving supernatural deer, deer who are associated with a spiritual figure, and spirits or deities who may take the form of deer. In some Scottish and Irish tales deer are seen as "fairy cattle" and are herded and milked by a tutelary, benevolent, otherworldly woman (such as a ''bean sìdhe'' or in other cases the goddess Flidais), who can shapeshift into the form of a red or white deer.〔J. G. McKay, "The Deer-Cult and the Deer-Goddess Cult of the Ancient Caledonians"''Folklore'' 43.2 (June 1932), pp. 144-174; McKay (p. 149) points out that the usual term for a giantess, ''ban-fhuamhair'', a cannibal ogress, is never applied to the "Old Woman"〕 In the West Highlands, this woman of the otherworld selects the individual deer who will be slain in the next day's hunt.〔J.F. Campbell of Isalay, ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands'', ii, no. 27, noted by McKay 1932:150.〕 In Ireland, The ''Cailleach Bhéara'' ("The Old Woman of Beare"), who lives on an island off the coast of County Cork, takes the form of a deer to avoid capture, and herds her deer down by the shore. The Beare peninsula is also associated with the islands in the western sea that are the lands of the dead.〔"The Chase of Ben Gulbin" (McKay1932:151).〕 Other Celtic mythological figures such as Oisin and Sadbh also have connections to deer. Cernunnos is a mythological figure in Continental Celtic mythology, and possibly one of the figures depicted on the Gundestrup cauldron. He has deer or stag antlers on the top of his head. His role in the religion and mythology is unclear, as there are no particular stories about him. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Deer in mythology」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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