Medaram, a tiny village in Telangana’s tribal heartland of Mulugu district, is getting ready to host the Sammakka-Sarakka jatara, billed as the country’s biggest tribal fair.

Sammakka-Sarakka Jatara

• The mega four-day jatara, scheduled to begin on February 16 in Medaram. It takes place once in two years.
• It is perhaps the only tribal fair devoted to pay tribute to tribal warriors who made supreme sacrifices defending the rights of aboriginal tribal people.
• It symbolises the traditions and heritage of the Koya tribal people.
• The sacred site in Medaram and its surrounding Jampanna vagu, named after tribal martyr Jampanna, son of Sammakka, comes alive with lakhs of devotees during the four-day jatara.

Why do tribals come to Medaram?

• This festival commemorates a tribal revolt led by Sammakka and Saralamma, a mother-daughter duo, against levy of taxes on tribal people during drought conditions by the then Kakatiya rulers in the 12th century.
• Tribals (and others) flock to Medaram during the jatara not just from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh but also from as far as Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
• Sammakka and Saralamma are revered by devotees as tribal goddesses, and devotees make offerings to propitiate them to bestow health and wealth.
• All the rituals at the jatara site are held in tune with tribal traditions under the aegis of tribal priests.

Features of the celebrations

• One of the striking features of the tribal fair is the offering of jaggery to the tribal goddess at the altars (bamboo poles).
• It encompasses common features of tribal fairs – die-hard devotees going into a trance, the sacrifice of fowls and goats, besides pulsating traditional drum beats accompanying folk songs.

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