MEDARAM JATARA

Medaram Jathara

Sammakka Saralamma Jathara or Medaram Jathara is a tribal festival of honouring the goddesses celebrated in the state of Telangana, India. The Jatara begins at Medaram in Tadvai Mandal, Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. It commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law. It is believed that after Kumbha Mela, it is Medaram jathara which attracts the largest number of devotees in the country. An estimated 10 million people gathered in 2018. It is celebrated in Medaram at a time when it is believed that goddesses of the tribals visits them. Medaram is a remote hamlet in Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya forest range.

There are many legends about the miraculous powers of Sammakka. According to a tribal story, during 13th century, a troop from the Koya tribal community was returning from a trip when they saw a little girl playing with the tigers. The head of the troop saw the girl and inspired by her bravery, he adopted her and named her as Sammakka. Later she married a headman of a neighboring tribal group and had a daughter, Sarakka. Both the mother and daughter protested the Kakatiya kings who forced the tribes to pay taxes. Both the women fought bravely and reportedly lost their lives. The Koya community constructed this temple as a token of gratitude. Annually an event called Sammakka Saralamma jathara is held which is considered as one of the largest tribal festivals in the world.

Ritual

Sammakka Sarakka Jathara is the largest tribal religious congregation in the world, held every two years (biennially), with approximately ten million people converging on the place, over a period of four days, which is located about 90 km from Warangal city. The Sammakka Sarakka Jatra is a State Festival of Telangana. Many tribal devotees from different states of India (M.P, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and parts of Jharkhand) reach this festive place to celebrate the Jathara. People offer bangaram/gold (jaggery) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses and take holy bath in Jampanna Vagu (stream). It is a festival with no Vedic or Brahminic influence.

Until 1998, the only way to reach Medaram was by a bullock cart. In 1998, the state government declared the centuries old festival as official and laid down a motorable road. In 2008, nearly 8 million people were estimated to have attended the festival. And in recent times the gatherings in the jathara is roughly close to 10 million. This fair is said to be the largest repeating congregation of tribal communities in the world. In the year 2018, approximately 1 crore people attended the world's largest tribal festival.

Jampanna vagu

Jampanna vagu is a tributary of River Godavari. According to the history, Jampanna is the tribal warrior and the son of Tribal Goddess Sammakka. The Jampanna vagu took his name as he died in a battle fighting against Kakatiya Army in that stream. The Jampanna vagu is still red in colour marked with the blood of Jampanna (scientifically the red colour of the water is attributed to the soil composition). Tribal's believe that taking a holy dip in the red water of Jampanna Vagu reminds them the sacrifice of their gods who saved them and also induces courage into their souls. There is a bridge constructed on Jampanna Vagu, known as Jampanna Vagu bridge.