A study on past human experiences related to gender roles as revealed through children's lullabies (Based on the Suriya Ara village in the Monaragala district)

Abstract

Oral lullabies, which were used by mothers to lull their children to sleep in traditional villages in Sri Lanka, are still used today.( A lullaby is a gentle, soothing song that is sung to babies and young children to help them fall asleep) These songs used to lullaby children, can be used to discuss gender roles. The research problem used for this study was “What gender roles are revealed in children's lullabies”? The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of gender roles as revealed in children's luallabies. The attitudes that have existed in society since the moment a male child is born, as well as the history of attitudes toward female children, could be identified through certain information contained in these lullabies. The research methodology used for this study was the field study method and the library survey method. This research was conducted under the qualitative research methodology. The importance of this study is to identify the views that adults in rural society have towards children based on gender. Also, their interests and attitudes towards gender can be identified here. These songs reflect that although society as a whole loves children, it expects different outcomes from its children based on gender. In some songs, mothers are pleased with their son's talents and expect a commitment to the welfare of the family from their son. But attitudes among adults towards female children are different. It can be identified that attitudes include those regarding women's innocence, their femininity and their ability to become mothers in the future. Some of the songs clearly show how advice is given to both sexes. It seems that efforts have been made to instill in her daughter that as the girl grows older in the future, she must protect her dignity and that it is her responsibility. It was also clear that rural women have used nursery rhymes to give advice to their sons from a young age, lovingly telling them to be good natured, to be friendly with their peers, and to be kind to their children. Accordingly, even in these children's lullabies, it was possible to identify gender differences and how women and men have different roles in gender society.