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Sheela na gigs are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are architectural grotesques found on churches, castles, and other buildings, particularly in Ireland and Great Britain, sometimes together with male figures. One of the best examples may be found in the Round Tower at Rattoo, in County Kerry, Ireland. There is a replica of the round tower sheela na gig in the County Museum in Tralee town. Another well-known example may be seen at Kilpeck in Herefordshire, England. Ireland has the greatest number of surviving sheela na gig carvings; McMahon and Roberts cite 101 examples in Ireland and 45 examples in Britain.〔McMahon, J. & Roberts, J. ''The Sheela-na-Gigs of Ireland and Britain: The Divine Hag of the Christian Celts – An Illustrated Guide,'' Mercier Press Ltd. (2000) ISBN 978-1-85635-294-9〕 Such carvings are said to ward off death and evil.〔Andersen, Jorgen ''The Witch on the Wall'' (1977) Rosenkilde & Bagger ISBN 978-87-423-0182-1〕〔Weir, Anthony & Jerman, James (Images of Lust: Sexual Carvings on Medieval Churches ), London: B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1986〕 Other grotesques, such as gargoyles and hunky punks, were frequently part of church decorations all over Europe. It is commonly said that their purpose was to keep evil spirits away (see apotropaic magic). They often are positioned over doors or windows, presumably to protect these openings. ==Origin== Scholars disagree about the origins of the figures. James Jerman and Anthony Weir believe that the sheela na gigs were first carved in France and Spain in the 11th century; the motif eventually reached Britain and then Ireland in the 12th century.〔 Jerman and Weir's work was a continuation of research begun by Jorgen Andersen, who wrote ''The Witch on the Wall'' (1977), the first serious book on sheela na gigs.〔 Eamonn Kelly, Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, draws attention to the distribution of sheela na gigs in Ireland to support Weir and Jerman's theory;〔Kelly, Éamonn ''Sheela Na Gigs. Origins And Function,'' Country House (1996) ISBN 978-0-946172-51-1.〕 almost all of the surviving ''in situ'' sheela na gigs are found in areas of Anglo-Norman conquest (12th century). The areas that remained "native Irish" have few sheela na gigs.〔 Weir and Jerman also argue that their location on churches and the grotesque features of the figures, by medieval standards, suggests that they represented female lust as hideous and sinfully corrupting.〔 Another theory, espoused by Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts, is that the carvings are remnants of a pre-Christian fertility or mother goddess religion.〔 They note what they claim are differences in materials and styles of some sheela na gigs from their surrounding structures, and noting that some are turned on their side, to support the idea that they were incorporated from previous structures into early Christian buildings. In addition, typical continental exhibitionist figures differ from those of Irish sheela na gigs. There is a scarcity of male figures in Ireland and the UK, while the continental carvings are more likely to involve male figures. Continental figures also are represented in more contortionist postures. 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「Sheela na gig」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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