AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY NAMES OF THE PERSONS ILLUSTRATED BY THE SIGIRI GRAFFITI (FROM THE FIRST HUNDRED SET OF GRAFFITIES)

Abstract

According to Mahavamsa story, King Kashyapa - I is credited with creating Sigiriya. A defensive fort built outside the capital during the Anuradhapura kingdom, Sigiriya is unique in terms of art and literature. Through this research, among the majority of the poets who composed Sigiri graffities, the names of the persons whose identity can be confirmed and their nature is identified. Accordingly, the research objective of the research was to engage in a study of Names of the persons used in the historical period of this country and as subobjectives, to uncover their social representation, employment nature, etc. The research problem or the research space became to identify the personal names used in Sri Lanka in the period between the seventh century A.D. and the thirteenth century A. D. when Sigiri graffities were composed. In order to collect data under the research methodology, literature sources and previous research published in Sigiri graffities, field research and interviews were used. Data analysis focused on the interpretations given by various authentic scholars of Sigiri graffities and other contemporary written sources such as epigraphs and Mahavamsa were also used. Also, conclusions were reached after discussions with the authentic scholars on the latest research topics on the finally discovered data. As a result of the research, out of the hundred original Sigiri graffities that were studied, the authorship of about fifty-six graffities could be clearly identified. Among them, men, women, royalties, civil servants, merchants, monks and nuns belonging to various social groups could be identified. Also many area names attached to names of persons could be identified here. Apart from this, it was possible to identify some of the most commonly used names that can be thought to refer to a certain caste or tribe. The actual research was limited to the original hundred Sigiri graffities, but by paying attention to other Sigiri graffities as well, this research can be expanded as a suggestion.