A painting on a temple wall, of a woman asserting herself over her aged husband
Wall paintings--Degaldoruva Vihare--Kandy (Sri Lanka)
This scene at the Degaldoruva Vihare in the Kandy district, Sri Lanka, is somewhat restrained, but is presented together with a group of women round a well, whose taunts provoke the young woman Amittatapa (Vessantara Jataka, one of the former birth stories of the Buddha) to assert herself. Although these paintings are only a visual expression of earlier literary woks, the choice of episodes and the manner in which they are presented may reveal 18th century attitudes.
Degaldoruva Vihare, Kandy district, Sri Lanka
Technical Assistant: Jayasundare, Subhashini
International Center for Ethnic Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies, Colombo
All rights reserved by International Center for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka.
Forms part of Photographic documentation of Women as depicted in early Sri Lankan sculpture and painting / Slide in present collection