The fig sign is a mildly obscene gesture used at least since the Roman age in Western Europe, and nowadays in Turkish and Slavic cultures and some other cultures that uses two fingers and a thumb. This gesture is most commonly used to deny a request.
In ancient Rome, the fig sign, or manu fica, was made by the pater familias to ward off the evil spirits of the dead as a part of the Lemuria ritual.
The hand gesture may have originated in ancient Indian culture to depict the lingam and yoni.
In Indonesia, it is known as a gesture symbol for sexual intercourse. Where the thumb represent the male genitalia, the middle and index finger act as the female genitalia, this is to replicate the penetration of the male genitalia into the female genitalia. This hand gesture is still popular up until today specially among men.
