Folklore study about the communicative meanings revealed by ten headed (dasis) concept in the legend of rāvana in Sri Lanka

Abstract

There are many evidences to prove that the number of myths were in rural folklores which are related to a king of Sri Lanka who was known as Rāvana, and the concept of Rāvana or the Ten Headed man (Dasis) is emerged through the historical myths from Sri Lanka, India and other south Asian countries. Ten heads and twenty hands, which are not available with an ordinary man, are rooted in this Dasis concept. In the epic of Rāmāyana, it has been mentioned that Mahā Rāvana had ten heads. The symbolic forms which can be recognized in the folklores are also existed with this Ten Headed (Dasis) designation. The main purpose of this research was to study the hidden communicative meanings of the Ten Headed (Dasis) concept in the legend of Rāvana. The information gathered from literal study, and the existing ideologies about the legend of Rāvana in South Asian Countries including Sri Lanka, are examined in this research. And the folklore study was performed in the North central, northwestern provinces and selected regions in Sri Lanka In this study, it concludes, that in Asian countries, the leaders and relatives who has passed away on behalf of the land, who has done a great service for the many, were treated, offered and venerated as Gods after their passing away, and the power, strength and abilities of them were represented in symbolizing, exaggerated ways by special physique. In the Vargapūrṇikā, which is Ola leaf manuscript, king Rāvana is introduced as “Yagu Korāna Manthaka Dasha Shirshapathi Sri Rāvana”. The meaning of that according to ancient Yakkha language is “One who completed everything”. Through this research study it was founded that Rāvana and the Yakkha tribe had a profound vast knowledge about ten subjects and the remains of them are still existed in the present folklores.