Llandrindod Wells Sheela-na-gig
I have been fascinated by the images of
Sheela-na-gig for as long as I can remember.
She is an enigma! Her image can
be found on churches, castles and old buildings through Ireland and Britain. In
my research I found that the first mention of the Sheela-na-gig in church
documents is the early 12th century. The most common notion is that
the Sheela-na-gig is a fertility and sex goddess, even though none of the
figures have ever depicted a child birth.
It is also of the mind that she represents a warning against lust as
well as protection against evil. So as you can see there isn't really any
concrete evidence as to what the Sheela-na-gig’s purpose truly is.
It was on my first trip to Wales that I had a chance to get up close and
personal with the Sheela-na-gig. I was
visiting my husband who at the time was living in Llandrindod Wells in
Wales. He took me to the old parish
church which sits above the lake, and he told me about the Sheela-na-gig that
was found.
Old Parish Chruch - Llandrindod Wells
Even though the church is fairly modern, the
first mention of it is in the Church documents dated 1291. According to local
lore, the Sheela-na-gig was found buried face down under the enterance of the church.
The Llandindod Wells Sheela is said to
be the one of the most well preserved Sheela’s in the UK . After it’s discovery it sat in the window of
the church up until 1990 where it was moved to the Radnorshire museum. Because
this Sheela is a loose piece of carving, it is very hard to date. However there
is some evidence which suggests that it was carved in the 12th
century, for it bears an similarities to the Sheela found at St. Pafarn atLlanbadarn Fawr. This suggests that it may have been carved by the same person.
For as much research as
I have done in my search for understand the Sheela-na-gig, I was not prepared
for what I experienced in seeing her first hand or the excitement that over took me. First we explored the Old Parish Church which
sits on an Old Celtic site a natural mound of sorts. Standing in the doorway
you have a beautiful view of the soft rolling hills and a 360 degree view if
the church was moved. It is quite breathtaking and so beautiful. I can understand why they picked this spot to build
a church, for it felt sacred as we walked the grounds.
Entrance to the Old Parish Church
Next stop was the
Radnorshire museum where I was going to get to see Her in person. It may seem
silly, but I was nervous, excited for I was just about to see the REAL
Sheela-na-gig. Something that I thought would never happen. I was amazed at the detail of this Sheela and
how fierce she looked compared to the Kilpeck image that we are so used to
seeing. One of the most noticeable differences is that she had teeth, and that
her ribs were visible as if she were starved. I stood in silence for sometime just taking
in the all her detail and feeling a huge sense of gratefulness that I have been
able had this experience . For now when working with the Sheela-na-gig, I have real
life images and memories to pull from and nothing gets better than that.
Kilpeck Sheela-na-gig
So in hindsight I was
gifted with the experience and a brief glimpse into the minds of locals. In my own humble opinion I can only see the
burial of the Sheela-na-gig in the entrance way as a sign of people who
believed deeply in their traditions and heritage. So much so that they buried
her deep, knowing that each time they crossed the threshold into the church
that they were honoring the old gods, even if they had to “pretend” to honor
the new.
A special note of thanks to Will Adams the Curator of the Radnorshire Museum who granted me permission to use the Sheela-na-gig photo. I enjoyed my visit to the Museum and I recommend it to anyone who is traveling in Powys.
For more information on the Radnorshire Museum please visit : http://www.powys.gov.uk
For more information on the Sheela-na-gig please visit : http://www.sheelanagig.org/
For Statue images of the Sheela-na-gig visit RavensWing : http://www.ravenswinginternational.com
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