A matriarchy is a system within which the women hold the
positions of power as oppose to a patriarchy where men hold positions of power.
Within a matriarchy women are higher up in the social hierarchy than men and
hold important positions within the country. This method is commonly seen among
elephants where the older female leads and provides security for the herd. So
simply speaking, it is the exact opposite of
our current system which is patriarchal.
Queen Seondeok aka Janahithakami Rajiniya a Korean Drama
shown on MBC and presently airing on Sri Lanka Rupavahini is a perfect example
of a matriarchy. In Janahithakami Rajiniya the country of Silla is solely run
by women at one stage of its history (Note that Silla is one of the kingdoms of
Korea before all three kingdoms united to be Joseon). In Janahithakami Rajiniya
the nation is run by a Queen. Of Course she has men to guard and support her on
some issues but other than that she has all the power to do what ever she
wants. Moreover Queen Seondeok is trained as an army personal or a Nangdo and
was part of the Hawarangs (the elite army of Silla). So she was a martial
artist and was very capable of defending herself.
At one point Seondeok’s father, the King asks her to get
married so that he could give his throne to her husband. Seondeok refuses this
and claims that she will take the throne as Queen Seondeok. Of course this is a decision which is opposed
by all the nobles but at the end of the day Bidam, Kim Yushin and Kim Alcheon
join together to make Seondeok the Queen. So this is a very feminist story as
women are being empowered.
Yes and now we come to the villain. Most dramas would choose
a man as the main villain however in Janahithakami Rajiniya the main villainous
is Mishil. Mishil is a Hawarang and is the beholder of the seal. She has so
much power that King Jinji and later King Jinpyeong (Seondeok’s father) were
under her control. Not only this, she had many lovers and she used them for
political gain. While she remained as a concubine to the King’s she had
relationships with Sejong and Seolwon. Both these men were of high positions in
Silla. Sejong was the Prime Minister and the 6th leader of the
Hawarang warriors and he was her husband.
Seolwon is Mishil’s lover; he is
the Defense Minister and the 7th leader of the Hawarang. Mishil had
children with both these men and they were also Hawarang leaders or commanders.
So through this she was able to gain power.
Something to note is
that even though Mishil gave birth to these children she never looked after
them. Their fathers were the ones who looked after and raised the children. I
personally think this is very feminist and the equality of the genders is nice
to watch. Even though Mishil is a villainous she is a character to admire. She
being a woman never gave up, she never thought otherwise and she had so much
power as a woman. She was never controlled by men; rather she controlled all
the men.
Even Queen Seondeok never fell before a man; she never once
thought that she will never survive without a man. She even gave up her love for Bidam for her
country. She gave up on him when he started a war to dethrone her because a
woman was not fit to control Silla. Of course there was a huge misunderstanding
but yet this shows how strong Seondeok /Deokman was as a women. Silla therefore
is a prime example of a matriarchy and a very inspirational one.
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