AN INQUIRY OF THE DRAMA IN THE ANCIENT ROHANA KINGDOM BASED ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES (BASED ON ANURADHAPURA AND POLONNARUWA ERAS)

Abstract

Rohana was an important administrative unit in the history of Sri Lanka during the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa period. Source studies show that this area sometimes functioned as a sub-state of Sri Lanka and other times as an independent state. There has been an advanced culture based on these areas. Literary sources indicate that drama and the performing arts, which were part of the culture, also flourished in the area. The problem with this observation is whether archeological sources can examine the drama that existed in Rohana during the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa periods. Primary and secondary sources were used for the methodology of this research. Inscriptions, ruins, paintings and scrolls found in the areas bordering the Rohana kingdom during the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa periods were studied under primary sources. Information was gathered from books, magazines and the Internet under secondary sources. Analysis of the data revealed that archeological evidence found in the Rohana area during the Polonnaruwa period in Anuradhapura reveals information about the Director of Drama, Arts of Drama, Actors of Drama, Actress of Drama and theatrical performances. Accordingly, it can be concluded from this that there was a tradition of Drama and Per