something important was happening behind it.
Earlier we mentioned that the villages were
situated separately in the dry zone. Further, we
said that there was a tank in each and every
village. In constructing tank systems they
connected such independent tanks with each
other according to the contour lines of water
flowing. Therefore, it was natural for the chiefs
of the villages to discuss and there emerged the
need of taking important decisions regarding
connecting tanks in their villages. When the
most ancient inscriptions are read meticulously,
it can be seen that the most powerful person
among the Gamikas had acted to represent all
villages of the tank – system. This person was
called by the name of ‘Parumaka’. Since the
Parumakas had the power to take decisions on
behalf of the welfare of the people who lived in
several villages belonging to the tank- system,
they were considered to be a group of importantchieftains in the then society.
Even today ruins of hundreds of such tank –
systems could be seen in the plains in the dry
zone. It is clear that there was a Parumaka for
each tank – system during the time they were
used. There is information on hundreds of such
Parumakas in inscriptions. Not only men, but
also women too were engaged in provincial
administration on some occasions. Such women
were called in the name of ‘Parumakalu’. As a
whole, all of them were people who ruled the
small land units in the areas where settlement
had spread in the dry zone. Accordingly, the
evolution of political power in Sri Lanka started
as a divided system. The best word that can be
used to name such a method is ‘decentralized
ruling’.Illustration 3.2 The chiefs of the Gamikas were called Parumakas. They had the right to collect taxes. The Parumakas
symbolize an important beginning of developing the political power in a later time.