The biennial four-day Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, also known as the Medaram Jatara, will be held from 21 to 24 February in 2024.
Devotees wrapping sarees to Saralamma Gadde. (Sumavarsha Kandula/ South First)
As the moon moves closer to the star cluster Magha, a tiny forest village at Tadvai in Telangana’s Mulugu district comes alive.
An otherwise non-descript village with a population of around 300 tribals, the Magha masa — the 11th month in the Hindu calendar — brings with it hordes of devotees, who pitch tents to attend a biennial festival that worships the strength, valour, and benevolence of women deities, according to Hindu mythology.
The village, Medaram, is now decked up for the festival. The mild burning sugary smell of jaggery wafts through the streets that reverberate with the frantic bleating of goats and clucking of chicken — all blanketed by the strong pervading acrid odour of liquor. The makeshift shops have little mounds of jaggery, goats, chicken, and several bottles of liquor, all for sale.
The streets are crowded with villagers and visitors in high spirits, many of them sprightly heading towards the historical bridge on the Jampanna Vaagu — previously Sampangi Vaagu, before a tribal warrior entered it after being injured in a war with the Kakatiya army.
The pilgrimage — Medaram Sammakka Saralamma Jatara — begins with a dip in the Vaagu, a tributary of the river Godavari. The main four-day Jatara — the biggest tribal festival in Asia, and the second-largest religious congregation in India after the Kumbh Mela — is set to begin on 21 February.
The Jatara celebrates the valour and supreme sacrifice of warrior women — especially the mother-daughter duo of Sammakka and Saralamma — of the Koya tribe, once the armed soldiers of various palegars, or petty chiefs, but now involved in farming and making bamboo furniture.
The Koya-hosted Jatara is devoid of any rigid rituals — and Brahmin priests. It is a celebration of women, community, and the courage to stand up for rights.
Small stalls selling confectionaries dot the streets, but what catches the eye is a wide array of alcoholic beverages that all these shops offer.
Shopkeepers have displayed empty bottles, or even full bottles of various brands of alcohol, neatly arranged on upended empty lath boxes in front of their shops to lure customers.
For a first-timer, this might seem odd, but for the regulars, the Jatara is incomplete without alcohol, meat, vermilion, bangles, and bangaram.
While bangaram literally means gold, in Medaram, it means jaggery. The offering and prasad both are primarily jaggery.
The jaggery is offered to the deities, and then distributed among the devotees as prasad. Unlike other temples, Medaram doesn’t have cooked prasad.
The offerings range from one kg to five kg. But devotees who have made specific wishes and received favours, offer jaggery equal to their body mass.
Huge weighing scales seen at the main pilgrimage area testify that such offerings are frequently.
Jampanna Vaagu getting ready for the Jatara. (Sumavarsha Kandula/ South First)
As mentioned, devotees take a dip in the holy waters of Jampanna Vaagu, before embarking on the main Jatara.
The vaagu (stream) is named after Sammakka’s son Jampanna, who died fighting the Kakatiyas. According to folklore, an injured Jampanna fell into the stream, and its waters turned red with the tribal warrior’s blood.
After dipping in the stream, the devotees proceed to the main area, where four poles are placed a few meters apart.
While the main two poles, known as “Gadde” are of Sammakka and Saralamma, the two adjacent ones are of Pagididda Raju —Sammakka’s husband, and Govinda Raju — Pagididda Raju’s brother.
The “Gadde” is a tall wooden pole wrapped with sarees offered by the devotees. The base of “Gadde” is heaped with vermilion and turmeric, bangles, and jaggery.
Apart from offering jaggery, the devotees also sacrifice goats and chicken, depending on the “Mokku” (promise to God) they had made.
However, offering a goat is considered the highest form of offering. The goat bought by the devotees is taken around the “Gadde”, adorned with vermilion, turmeric, and flowers. It is then made to drink alcohol.
The devotees then ask the goat its permission to be sacrificed. Once it nods in “approval”, the animal is taken to the altar.
A goat and hen before sacrifice. (Sumavarsha Kandula/ South First)
Incidentally, the goat shakes its whole body in an attempt to shake off the effects of alcohol — and unknown to the animal, is considered as a nod of approval. The sacrificed goat is then cooked and feasted upon by the whole family.
Transpersons also play a significant role in the Jatara, they make a small cut on the sacrificial goat as an auspicious sign.
“Sammakka, Saralamma are our mothers. We come here every time to pay our respects,” Jogini Soni, a transperson from Miryalaguda, told South First.
Though the Jatara is now open every day throughout the year, it was not the case a decade or two ago. Medaram would come to life only for the four Jatara days once every two years.
Until 1998, the only way to reach Medaram was by rickety bullock carts. In 1998, the state government declared the 1,000-year-old festival an official one and constructed a motorable road.
How does the Jatara start, what happens on those four days? And how did the tribal community manage to hold onto their traditions?
Like many tribal histories, the Medaram Jatara also relies on oral history.
According to Kiran Kumar Kaka, the main priest of the Saralamma “Gadde”, the Koya tribals while hunting in the dense forest, found a newborn Sammakka in Chilakalgutta.
“The child was found along with a Kumkum Bharina (vermillion casket) and there were pugmarks of a tiger,” he narrated.
Kiran Kumar Kaka — Vadde at the Saralamma Gadde. (Deepika Pasham/ South First)
The child was then handed over to tribal chieftain, Meda Raju. He adopted the baby and brought her up as Sammakka. She was then married to Pagididda Raju another chief of the same tribe.
It is believed that Pagididda Raju had sworn allegiance to Pratapa Rudra, the last ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty.
Kiran Kumar added that the region experienced its worst drought in the year that followed, and the tribesmen could not pay the taxes to Kakatiyas.
It led to a conflict between the king and the tribesmen. The people revolted, and the king sent in his army.
“Pagididda Raju, his brother Govinda Raju, and Sammakka’s son Jampanna fought against the trained army of Kakatiyas and lost. It was then that Sammakka and her daughter Saralamma entered the battlefield,” Kiran Kumar said.
“They fought till their last breath. While Saralamma lost her life in the fight, a heavily injured Sammakka retreated to Chilakalagutta — the place she was found as a newborn.”
“When the people of the tribe went in search of Sammakka, all they found was the Kumkum Bharina,” he added.
Kiran Kumar said ever since, Sammakka as Kumkum Bharina is brought to Medaram from Chilakalagutta for every two years for two days.
Speaking of the festival being hosted by the Koya tribe, Kiran Kumar said, “The governments never tried to usurp our right to conduct the Jatara.”
“They know not even a brick could be placed here without our approval,” he added, discreetly underscoring that the festival is also the celebration of their rights.
However, the government’s version contradicted the tribal belief.
Speaking to South First, assistant curator of the Tribal Museum at Medaram, K Ravi, said, “There is no proof to claim that a war had taken place. The timelines, too, don’t match. Prataparudra, grandson of the Kakatiya queen Rudrama Devi ruled the area in the 13th century.”
“While the Medaram Jatara is 500 years old, there is no proof of the Jatara before that period,” he added.
The government’s version of history, which is also displayed in the tribal museum, said that Sammakka was adopted by Meda Raju, and then the young woman dedicated her life to serving the Koya people. Finally, Sammakka asked the Koya people to let her return to Chilakalagutta, the place where she was found as a newborn.
As mentioned, Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara doesn’t have a Brahmin priest.
The goddesses are worshipped in the form of a Kumkum Bharine (Vermillion box), and the descendants of the Sammakka and Saralamma bring them from Chilkalgutta and Kannepali, respectively, to Medaram.
On the first day — Māgha Shuddha Pōōrnami — usually a Wednesday, Saralamma, and her father Pagidda Raju are brought from Kannepalli and Poonugondla, respectively, to Medaram.
On day two, Sammakka is brought from Chilkalgutta to Medaram, a nearby hillock after her descendants — the Sadeboina family performs a host of secret rituals.
The eldest male member of the family, known as Vadde and wearing the traditional bells and belts, brings Sammakka, essentially a kumkum bharine, in a procession — by Thursday midnight.
The procession is also accompanied by the musical instrument Akkum.
Govinda Raju — brother-in-law of Sammakka, is also carried from Kondai village to Medaram the same day.
On the third day — Friday, the Jatara reaches its peak. The day also witnesses huge rush of devotees.
On the fourth day — Saturday, the Jatara ends with the “Tallula Vanapravesham” (entry of Sammakka and Saralamma). The kumkum casket is returned to Chilakalagutta and kept there until the next Jatara.
Sadeboina women managing the devotees. (Sumavarsha Kandula/ South First)
While the main Jatara days are handled by the male members of the family, the holy site is handled by the women members of the Sadeboina family.
On the day South First visited the Jatara, the newest member of the Sadeboina family — the bride — Sadeboina Sirisha was managing the devotees, distributing vermilion, and accepting the bangaram from them.
“The eldest male member of the family won’t interact with us on a regular basis. They come to the Jatara on the main days,” she told South First.
While the Jatara will start only on 21 February, many devotees are already in Medaram.
Though the Jatara is world famous now, there is still not much infrastructure to accommodate the number of devotees visiting the temple.
While there is a state tourism department-run Haritha Hotel, it falls short of the requirement. Most devotees either wind up their trip the same day or stay in tents, and cook their food.
The Medaram Jatara is also a family outing for many, a celebration of the community.
Laxmi, who has come to the Jatara a month ahead to avoid the rush, said, “This is the best time to visit the Jatara, there is no uncontrollable rush, yet we can experience the beauty of the Jatara.”
While preparing a feast for her family, she added, “It is with the blessing of Sammakka we manage to come every time. We will now have the feast, drink a little alcohol and call it a day.”
Another devotee Shanti was seen buying bangaram equal to her husband’s weight, “His health was not good, and I promised Sammakka that I will offer bangaram equal to his weight when he recovers,” she said.
“We don’t come regularly. It is not possible with kids’ exams and other commitments. Instead we place the kumkum bharina at home and offer small quantities of bangaram, she added.
