Sammakka Saralamma Jatara

Sammakka Saralamma Jatara
Observed by	Tribal people or Scheduled Tribes
Type	Hindu, Tribal
Date	Biennial - September/October
2010 date	January 27 to 30
Celebrations	4 days
Observances	Offering to the Goddess

Sammakka Saralamma Jatara or Medaram Jatara is a tribal festival of honouring the goddesses celebrated in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, India.^[1] It commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law. It is believed^[who?] that after Kumbha Mela, the Medaram jatara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country.

It is celebrated in Medaram during the time the goddesses of the tribals is believed to visit them. Medaram is a remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya, the largest surviving forest belt in the Deccan.

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 period of three days, which is 90 km from Warangal city.^[2]

People offer bangaram (jaggery) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses.

It is a festival with no vedic or brahmanic influence. Goats and hens are sacrificed and liquor is consumed.

Until 1998, the only way to reach Medaram was by a bullock cart. In 1998 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.

References

1. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/21/stories/2008022154400400.htm
2. ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/2006/02/16/stories/2006021609360400.htm

External links

• http://www.Medaram.org