Andhra Pradesh

Faith, merriment reach feverish pitch

–Photo: M. Murali

Matter of faith: Pilgrims take a dip at Jampannavagu as part of Sammakka-Sarakka tribal festival at Medaram in Warangal on Thursday. (Right) A huge congregation of pilgrims was witnessed at the jatara.

MEDARAM (WARANGAL DT.): If faith has feet, it can be seen here. As the tribal drumbeat rose steadily, tens of thousands of people waited in anticipation. They burst into joy when the Superintendent of Police, Soumya Mishra fired several rounds in air heralding the arrival of tribal Goddess Sammakka from the Chilkalgutta.

This was the high tide of piety and belief with the devotees surging ahead to reach out to the precincts of altar of Sammakka and Sarakka.

It was the most awaited moment for which they all endured the back breaking journey into the forests, cooked and slept in open and patiently waited in serpentine queues. In seconds, the lumps of turmeric, jaggery and countless number of coconuts rained on the altar with devotees throwing even the money and gold ornaments at the altar to appease their gods.

At 3 p.m, the Collector K. Damayanthi and Superintendent of Police, Soumya Mishra set out to Chilkalgutta to ensconce the deity Sammakka alongwith the tribal priests. Youngest member of the tribal family, Kakkera Sambaiah performed pujas and came out from the hillocks at 5.15 pm. From there the deity was carried in a procession till Medaram village.

Thousands of people who lined on either side of the road from Chilkalgutta forest to Medaram village sacrificed animals as is the local custom and scores of women went into trance and danced endlessly.

The procession was delayed abnormally with the devotees trying to offer prayers enroute and it was only after dark, the deity reached the venue.

The crowds thronging this tiny village reached a peak with every possible inch of land in sight occupied. The queues moved at snail’s pace despite the efforts from vargious agencies.

For the tribals even the primitives who came all the way from neighbouring Chattisgarh, Maharasthra and Orissa agency areas and from Eturunagaram, Bhadrachalam, Venkatapuram, Manugure and other places of Andhra Pradesh, the festival had spiritual relevance.

They all look up to Sammakka and Sarakka as their family deities.

They all invoke the goddess onto them and dance in gay abandon.

They offer jaggery considered as gold equal to the weight of their children.

Women swathed in turmeric, sporting huge ‘Bottu’ (beauty drop), leaving their hair unlocked, carry a series of pots filled with food cooked with new rice dance to the tunes of cymbals and percussion instruments - drums and drumets enter the temple.

A series of shops – virtually offering everything come up. The Jatara is the occasion which is much awaited by the young and old all alike.

Hundreds of shops selling sweet candies and toys attract the children while garments, entertainment centres like recording dance troupes, magic shows, exhibitions and gambling centres draw huge crowds.

The youth got attracted to the shops selling colourful wrist bands and other souvenirs and to a battery of fortune tellers.

The quacks selling herbal medicines, ascetics, God men and fortune tellers make hay during the jatara amusing the illiterate village folk.

People who already had a glimpse of the God will retire for fun. The kids kept themselves busy blowing the trumpets and whistles bought from the shops around in the day.

Staff Reporter from Karimnagar writes:

The Sammakka-Sarakka jatara witnessed a sea of humanity at the Rekurthi village on the outskirts of Karimnagar town on Thursday, the second day of the biennial festival.

The jatara fervour picked up on Thursday evening with the installation of goddess Sammakka (in the form of vermillion covered in red cloth) on the ‘gaddi’ (platform) bought from the nearby hillocks by the tribal priests.

On Wednesday, goddess Saralamma alias Sarakka, daughter of Sammakka was installed on the gaddi.

All the roads in Karimnagar town and neighbouring mandals were leading towards Rekurthi Sammakka-Sarakka jatara.

Literally, the Karimnagar town wore a deserted look with the people going on pilgrimage to Medaram and Rekurthi jataras.

People started offering prayers to the gaddelu, sanctum sanatorium of the goddesses at Rekurthi.

Devotees offered jaggery equal to their weight and distributed the same to the other pilgrims at the jatara.

Young girls with the help of their parents performed special pujas with the Shiva Sathis to get good husbands.

The ancient practice of eduru kollu (an offering of lifting the fowls into the air as an offering to the Goddesses) was done by the devotees in large numbers.

Later, the devotees sacrificed fowls, goats and sheep as an offering and had a feast at the jatara along with the intoxicants.

Several thousands of people came to the Rekurthi jatara in various modes of transport.

Temporary dwellings, sheds and tents came up at the jatara site adding a spectacular view for the visitors. Hundreds of shops and petty business establishments also came up all over the jatara for the benefit of pilgrims.

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