Sammakka Sarakka Jathara – The Biggest Tribal Festival of Telangana in Asia

 Sammakka Sarakka Jatara, also known as Medaram Jatara, is the magnificent fair celebrations in Telagana region of Andhra Pradesh. It is the second largest religious congregation after the Maha Kumbh Mela with about 7 million pilgrims attending the jatara.
 
This jatara is held once in two years at Medaram village located at about 110 km from Warangal city, Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. The jatara is held for three days before Magha Purnima (January-February). In the year 2010, jatara starts on 27th January and ends on 30th January 2010.
 
The Legend of Sammakka Sarakka:
The story of Samakka Sarakka has history of 700 years when King Prathaparudra of Kakatiya dynasty used to rule the place. The tribals named Koya tribals used to live in that region and once they happened to find a baby girl playing with a tigress in the midst of forest. The mysterious girl was named ‘Sammakka.’ She was radiant having many powers. In her presence the village was flourishing and soon she became popular for her wish granting powers. She was married to headman of the neighboring village and had a daughter named Sarakka.
At one time there occurred a famine for continuous four years and people were not able to pay their taxes. Pagidda Raju, the subordinate ruler to the King Prathaparudra refused to pay tax and this led to war between the two rulers. During this fight the whole tribal community of the village was involved and Sammakka’s husband and daughter were injured by the fighters. Seeing this Sammakka became very furious and fought with warriors with great strength. Seeing fiery power all warriors were shattered and terrorized. She cursed Kakatiya that dynasty will perish and by doing so she disappeared in forest.
Koyas searched for Samakka and but found only bangles and few pug-marks of a tigress. They revered her as goddesses who had great power to protect the village. In due course of time Kakatiya dynasty was invaded and destroyed by Muslims. But even now the village of Medaram and tribals exist. The tribals of this region have been holding the fair in memory of Samakka and her daughter Sarakka to pursue her blessings upon them, seeking her protection.
Celebrations: A large sea of humans is seen at Medaram. Hundreds of buses and thousands of carts head towards the village. Sammakka goddess is brought from village Chilukalagutta and Sarakka is brought from village Kanneboyinapalle, in form of vermilion and placed on a platforms called Gaddelu. Thousands of people take holy dip at the Jampanna vagu before proceeding to the shrines of Sammakka Sarakka.

A special ritual of weighing against jagerry, called as Bangaram, is observed in the jatara where the person offers his weight jaggery to the goddesses. Thousands of cocks and goats are sacrificed on the name of deities. People dress in colorful attires and sing glories of Sammakka and Sarakka. Media and television telecasts the events in the jatara.

History

One day, seven centuries ago, the tribals were hunting deep in the forest where they saw a female child surrounded by glorious glow, divine light and secured by tigers and lions. The tribal’s elders (Koya doralu) brought the child to the village. From that day, the village started seeing lot of prosperity and happiness. The tribal elders felt that their god Kondadevara (tribal god) had come to them as the child. In a ritual ceremony they named her as "Sammakka". Sammakka was fearless and rode on tigers and lions. She granted wishes to childless couples and cured people suffering form various chronic diseases. Her divine powers to grant wishes soon made her popularity spread through out the province. When Sammakka attained juvenile age, she was married to one Pagididda Raju, the ruler of Medaram village. They were blessed with one son and two daughters named Jampanna, Saralamma and Nagulamma, respectively.
During that period Emperor Prathaparudra, belonging to the Kakatiya dynasty, was the ruler of the vast Kakatiya kingdom. The kingdom's capital city was "Orugallu", now known as Warangal. Pagididda Raju was ruling the Medaram province as a subordinate king in the Kakatiya dynasty. Once a severe famine occurred in the province that lasted for four years. The famine devastated almost the entire population in the province. As a result, the people were not in a situation to pay their taxes. So, Pagididda Raju refused to pay tax to the Kakatiya emperor. This was not agreeable to the Emperor and he decided to wage a war against the province under the command of his Lieutenant Yugandarudu.
The tribal warriors prepared for war and were not afraid of the massive enemy forces. They fought the Kakatiya soldiers with great courage and ferocity. Thousands fell dead with their heads chopped off and blood flowed like a river and mixed with the waters of the Sampenga Vagu. The skilled but severely outnumbered tribal warriors were easily crushed by the strength of the Kakatiya army. Sammakka’s husband Pagididda Raju, son-in-law Govindaraju laid their victorious lives in the battle. Ashamed of all this, Jampanna sacrificed his life by jumping in to Sampenga Vagu. Due to this, the vagu became to be known as as Jampanna Vagu.
On hearing the shocking news of the deaths of her loved ones and many tribal warriors, Sammakka didn’t lose her courage, but readied herself for entering the battle. Wearing a kavacham (a metal plate, worn to protect the front side of trunk) and holding a sword she attacked the enemy forces. Showing her divine powers she shattered and terrorised the Kakatiya army that was confident of its victory. But, suddenly a Kakatiya soldier came and hit and stabbed Sammakka from behind. Sammakka killed the soldier behind her and quickly tied the wound with a cloth and fled away on a horse from the battlefield thinking that 'if her blood fell on the land, the land would become barren and never give any fruit'. She fled to the east of the Medaram village and disappeared.
After the battle, the tribals searched for Sammakka in the forest. They found a Kumkum (vermilion) Barinay (a tiny box to keep the vermillion) at a snake burrow in the shade of a Naga vruksham (tree). Tribals felt that their goddess Sammakka has turned in to a Kumkum Barinay. Ever since, once in every two years, on the day of "Magha Shuddha Purnima" the tribal women celebrate a festival at the place where the Kumkum Barinay was found. The tree was later cut off by the tribals who transformed it in to a symbol of Sammakka and built a gadde (platform). They also built another gadde) for Sammakka’s daughter Saralamma. They worship Deyyala Madugu thinking it to be Jampanna. Some pilgrims see a snake in the burrow of Ippa Chettu (tree), which is beside the Sammakka’s platform and believe that it is Sammakka’s husband Pagididda Raju.
People believe that the goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma fulfill their wishes with their divine and miraculous powers. Childless couples come to visit and pray the goddess to bless them with children.
Many pilgrims pay back their promises during the Jatara by offering Jaggery, calf, coconuts and donations in cash, etc. Pilgrims take bath in the Jampanna Vagu to get purified and get absolved from sins.

 The Ritual

Sammakka Sarakka Jatara is the time for the largest tribal religious congregation in the world, held every two years (biennually), with approximately six million people converging on the place, over a a period of three days, which is 90 km from Warangal city.
People offer bangaram (jaggery) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses. Countless bullock carts congregate at the festival.

 Tribal spirit

Things have not changed much there since the Kakatiya times; about 1000 years from now in the past. The lack of involvement of the government has, however, helped the festival by and large retain its original spirit. It is a festival with no vedic or brahmanic influence. Goats and hens are sacrificed in thousands and a lot of liquor is consumed. The rituals performed during the festival unfurl the tribal spirit in its purest form. The very fact of the survival and thriving of this ancient tribal festival, in the face of several adversities, is a testimony of the indomitable resolve, honesty, uprightness and courage of the Girijans.
Until 1998, the only way to reach Medaram was by a bullock cart. Other than the four days of the biennial festival, there was not a single soul seen moving around in the area. It was a desolate place with no road or proper transportation. It was only in 1998 that the state government declared the 1000-yr old festival as official and laid down a motorable road.
In 2008, nearly 8 million people were estimated to have attended the festival. This fair is said to be the largest repeating congregation of tribal communities in the world. The traffic jam during the festival sometimes goes as far as 60 km on the Warangal highway.