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A Comparative Study: Marginalized Sri Lankan Historical Female
Icon, ‘Ehelepola Kumārihāmy’ through the Lenses of Sri Lankan

historians and Contemporary Historical Sri Lankan Sinhalese
novelist.

Pabasara Ponnamperuma
Temporary Lecturer, Department of English Language Teaching, University of Kelaniya, Sri
Lanka.
p.ponnamperuma95@gmail.com.

Key words Abstract

Contemporary novel Ehelepola Kumārihāmy has been identified as one of
Ehelepola Kumārihāmi marginalized Sri Lankan historical feminine figures. Sri Lankan
historical records have been showcased that she had been
Female icon marginalized because of the unfair punishment which had been
offered by king, Sri Wickrama rajasinghe. She had been ordered
Marginalized woman
to pound own children through her hands. Not only that she had
Sri Lanka been unfairly killed by king as a response to riotous deed of her
husband, Ehelepola Adikar including rejection of king’s unfair
intimate request. Purpose of research is to investigate one of the
marginalized historical female icons in Sri Lankan history,
‘Ehelepola Kumārihāmi ’ in both Sri Lankan historical records
and contemporary historical Sri Lankan Sinhalese novels.
Accordingly, this research pursues research question as follows,
‘how does one of the marginalized historical female icons in Sri
Lankan history, ‘Ehelepola Kumārihāmi’ portray in both Sri
Lankan historical records and contemporary historical Sri Lankan
Sinhalese novels.’ The methodology uses a qualitative research
design. Both narratives of Priyanka Amarathunga’s Kumārihāmi
1 and Kumārihāmi 2 will be analyzed using thematic analysis
along with portrayal of Ehelepola Kumārihāmi that which is
referred in a few selected Sri Lankan historical records including,
The Life of Ehelepola by T.B Pohath Kehelpannala, Trisinhala,
the last phase which was written by P.E Peiris and Ehelepola
Devenirajjuruwo which is written by Anura Manathunga. The
findings of the present study revealed a few themes which can be
categorized into two dimensions as follows: the tragic massacre
of Ehelepola Kumārihāmi and the sections of popular historical
romance novelist’s historical imagination. The first dimension
reveals the themes, Sri Wickrama’s vendetta with the family of
Ehelepola, the chastity of Ehelepola Kumārihāmi and the
inhuman massacre. Subsequently, the second dimension reveals
that chastity, deep love for children and husband, romance
between the husband and the wife and the brave and the proud
lady. In reference to the historical records and the narrative of the
historical contemporary novelist, Ehelepola Kumārihāmi was a
marginalized woman who had sacrificed own life over the
Ehelepola family because of the personal grudge of the king, Sri

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