Fig 6.4. This drawing displays a group of
people eating delicious food. This was
drawn in the 19th century A.D. This can be
seen in the Mulkirigala temple.Ashokamala won the hearts of everyone in
the king’s palace by making delicious food.
Dampiyaatuwagatapadaya says that the women
who were clever at cookery were introduced by
the special respected name as ‘Madhupachika’.
At times the name ‘Madhurahaththarasa’ too
was used. Its meaning is ‘having the ability of
delicious cooking’.
Apart from the royal families, there was no
impediment for women in the general society to
possess leadership. In about the 2nd century B.C.
there were leaders by the name of ‘Parumaka’
who were related to the provincial ruling of this
country. An inscription, discovered at a place
called Brahmanayagama in Anuradhapura
district, mentions a woman called Parumakalu
Samana. It says that she is the wife of the Parumaka
named Nadika. Here, the name Parumakalu is
the feminine noun of the word Parumaka. That
inscription is a good piece of evidence to prove
that women had also participated in the then
provincial ruling. The names of female devotees,
who played a major role in offering caves to
Buddhist monks, have been inscribed in those
caves. A rock inscription, found at the place
called Kokebe in Anuradhapura district, which
had belonged to the 2nd century A.D, mentions
a name of a woman as Thalatha Lakshmi. It
further mentions that she offered a half of her
family property to a Buddhist temple during
the time of king Bhathiytissa. The women who
lived then had the freedom to support religion
by spending their wealth.
Archaeological evidence discovered
in archaeological excavations are
necessary to substantiate the ideas
such as these found in literary
sources about the women who lived
in the ancient Sri Lanka. A metal
stick, which was used by a woman to
colour her eye lashes in the distant
history of 1129 B.C, was discovered
in an old house at a place named
Udaranchamadama in Rathnapura
district. Not only that there were
a few red and yellow brown stones
scrubbed on something strongly
and a clay bead. These brown