Female Leadership as Revealed by Historical Sources (Content Analysis from Historical and Archaeological Perspectives)

Abstract

For sake of safety, stability and integrity of the prevalent administration machinery the peace, their sacrificial commitment and the mediation of the Women factor played a very vital role. The stability and strength the power of intervention and commitment of the community of Women was a deciding factor for the safety and smooth running of the public administration machinery of ancient Sri Lanka. The Women and the ruler were not only the idealist forerunners in the dynamics of the field of politics of the social fabric of Sri Lanka, but also they were the carrier elements of the human culture. The women leadership which has not come up for an open serious discussion in the historical society has topped up to be an open topic of discussion. Intervention of the Women in the fields of politics does not come within the purview of the attitudes of the Women. The Women community established soon after the arrival of Arahath Mahinda Thero in Sri Lanka which spread all over Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the manner in which relationship were built between the Women and the ruler, the impact the Women made on the polity, the service ruler, rendered for the ruler, and what were the kind of benefits the ruler yielded from that support, the intervention the Women made on the ancient days polity, their role and the response that society offered towards that intervention of the Women all these are expected be studied critically in this paper. In the way so as to how the various and multiple recorded media very regarding the integration of the material and spiritual concepts, in the same way their historical roots also are found deposited in multiple fields. In the same way, this research is recorded as a comparative study of archaeological facts and pre-colonial system of records, all integrated and merged. Intervening of the Women into the political field became a powerful backing for the authority and power of the ruler going up immensely. It has tended to act directly and indirectly as well, both to freeze the pattern of the rule to a routine and tradition. In the same way, it was an effective force in feeding the rulers with a code of ethics and one that opened the ways and means of avoiding attacks and challenges to them shooting up from the open society. The cooperation extended by the rulers for the good of the Women community to the political institution and political leadership become a powerful force in shaping the leadership and the institution. But it also turned out to be a violent and sentimental force that disturbed the ancient political institution. Thus, the Women become the dynamic symbol of the force of the state balancing its historical political route. Also it has shown that those are dynamics and changing elements and also gifted them to the modern political fabric.