Papers by Dulma Karunarathna
The Journal of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Vol 4 Issue 2 , 2017
Y% S ,dxfla h úydr is ;= jïys ks rEms ; ls ßujf.a iudc-mq rdúoHdj ÿ,a ud lreKdr;a k "ls ßuj" hka ... more Y% S ,dxfla h úydr is ;= jïys ks rEms ; ls ßujf.a iudc-mq rdúoHdj ÿ,a ud lreKdr;a k "ls ßuj" hka k jpkd¾:h úuid ne,S fï § th ,dxfla h iudc-ixia lD;s l ika o¾Nh ;= < nyq úO wre;a Tia fia újrKh l< yels h' uQ ,s l jYfhka i,ld neAE l,a ys tys uQ ,s l wre;a ;= kla jgyd.; yels h' l= vd <orefjl= CIS rfhka fmda IKh lrk orejd ìys l< uj" fjk;a ldka ;djl ìys l< <orefjla ;u CIS rfhka fmda IKh lrk uj iy m;a ;s ks foa úh yd ne¢ j;a ms <s fj;a weiq f¾ tk m;a ;s ks foa úh fjkq fjka jQ odkuh cQ cdl¾uh Wfoid iyNd.S jka kdjQ m;a ;s ks uEKs hka ks fhda ckh lrka kdjQ ldka ;djka fuf,i ls ß wïud f,i ye¢ka fõ' fuu m¾fha IK m;% s ldj ;= <È idlÉPdjg nÿka lrkq ,nka fka fjk;a wfhl= ìys l< <orefjl= f.a fmda IKfha ;S rKd;a ul N+ ñldj fydnhk ,o ls ß uj 1 ^wet-nurse) kï ldka ;d N+ ñldj ms <s n|jh' fuu m¾fha IKfha § Wvrg iy my;rg ls % ' j' 18-19 Y;j¾Ihka ys bÈjQ fn!oa O úydrhka f.a mÀud>rhka ys w,xlrKh iy O¾u mKs úvhl Wmfhda .S ;dj fjkq fjka fm<.eia jq Kq ì;= is ;= jï" wOHhkfha m% Odk m% d:ñl uQ ,dY% úfYA Ih f,i Ndú; fõ' fCIA ;% .fõIKh Tia fia ks Íla IKhg n÷ka l< úydr is ;= jï w;r
Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies (Issue No. 16 (2021)), 2021
The obscured role of women in Sri Lankan archaeological historiography has portrayed a false impr... more The obscured role of women in Sri Lankan archaeological historiography has portrayed a false impression to contemporary society, that women in history were not socially engaged and remained in the background. This study unveils the image of women and offers alternative explanations that contextualize the female in eighteenth through twentieth century Sri Lanka. The mural paintings that embellished the Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in the period were examined as primary sources for a comparative study. Mural paintings provide a rich multi-vocality created by different artists from different localities including urban, suburban, and rural settings and they evoke diverse social attitudes which determined and prescribed the social behaviour of women. The concept of motherhood, which has generally been assigned to women in many different cultures around the world for centuries, is emphasized in Sri Lankan murals, and the presence of plentiful figures of women in the act of breast-feeding is also remarkable. Mural depictions suggest that men were also directly involved in child-rearing as a shared responsibility, and this visual evidence is corroborated by contemporary textual sources and folk literature. The caring, affectionate, sensitive, mothering qualities of women are constantly highlighted. The artists of the temple murals arrogated the historical themes into their contemporary social contexts and attempted to perpetuate the ideal role of Buddhist women through their visual expressions. With this agenda, the artists weighted and valued the role of mother, who has a boundless compassion, selfless care and the nurturing qualities towards the family in general and towards her offspring in particular.
https://thecjbs.org/archive-document-details/?id=269
Imaging the role of women in changing socio-cultural contexts :a study of female representations in murals in pre-modern Sri Lanka
Social Affairs: A Journal for the Social Sciences, 2018
Medawala Temple, one of the most prominent archaeological sites in Sri Lankan art
and architectur... more Medawala Temple, one of the most prominent archaeological sites in Sri Lankan art
and architecture, is situated in the district of Kandy. In the present study, the murals that
embellish the image house of the temple have been examined as primary sources for a
comparative analysis. The main narrative stories for these paintings are Vessantara and
Uraga jataka, of which the latter has been analysed in the article. Primary data were collected
through observational fieldwork conducted in 2010, 2012, 2017 and 2018 respectively,
and museum surveys in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. This research evaluates the
artists’ orientation to gender and attempts to understand the social ideology that exhorted
the artist in his visual liturgies. The main argument of this iconographic analysis has been
that the artist had visibly recast the central idea of the story with a gender bias. The artist
situates women in a less important position in spiritual understanding, and emphasizes
crying as a trait characteristic of women. This indicates contemporary attitudes towards
women, with supplementary sources also revealing evidence to show that women had
been given a less important place in society. The murals of great traditions such as those
in Medawala convey that they aimed to condition the socio-religious behavior of the people
of that time.
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Papers by Dulma Karunarathna
https://thecjbs.org/archive-document-details/?id=269
and architecture, is situated in the district of Kandy. In the present study, the murals that
embellish the image house of the temple have been examined as primary sources for a
comparative analysis. The main narrative stories for these paintings are Vessantara and
Uraga jataka, of which the latter has been analysed in the article. Primary data were collected
through observational fieldwork conducted in 2010, 2012, 2017 and 2018 respectively,
and museum surveys in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. This research evaluates the
artists’ orientation to gender and attempts to understand the social ideology that exhorted
the artist in his visual liturgies. The main argument of this iconographic analysis has been
that the artist had visibly recast the central idea of the story with a gender bias. The artist
situates women in a less important position in spiritual understanding, and emphasizes
crying as a trait characteristic of women. This indicates contemporary attitudes towards
women, with supplementary sources also revealing evidence to show that women had
been given a less important place in society. The murals of great traditions such as those
in Medawala convey that they aimed to condition the socio-religious behavior of the people
of that time.