Devotion defeats fear of Covid: Devotees in large number turns up Medaram Jatara

Mulugu: The faith in tribal goddesses seems have trounced the fear of contracting the Covid-19 amidst the fears of the third wave of the Covid-19 as the Medaram village, situated in the forest of Sammakka-Sarakka (SS) Tadvai mandal in the district, witnessed a surge in the devotees with the arrival of the Goddess Sarakka aka […]

Mulugu: The faith in tribal goddesses seems have trounced the fear of contracting the Covid-19 amidst the fears of the third wave of the Covid-19 as the Medaram village, situated in the forest of Sammakka-Sarakka (SS) Tadvai mandal in the district, witnessed a surge in the devotees with the arrival of the Goddess Sarakka aka Saralamma at the Gaddelu (circle shaped platforms fenced with iron grills) at the Medaram tribal shrine around 11.20 pm on Wednesday, while Collector S Krishna Aditya and SP SSG Patil were present at the Gaddelu.

One of the Koya tribal vaddes ( priests) Kaka Saraiah accompanied by other Vaddes amidst tight security by the police with a rope party has brought the Sarakka in the form of vermilion casket from the temple at Kannepally village, which is three km away from Medaram. The priests carrying the deity have reached the Medaram shrine wading through the waters in the Jamppanna vagu following the old customs though a double-bridge was constructed across the Jampanna vagu rivulet more than decade ago.

By the time, Sarakka, the daughter of Sammakka, has reached the Gadde, her father Pagidigiddaraju from Punugondla village, located at 25 km away in Gangaram mandal in Mahabubabad district has been brought to the Gadde by Vadde Muralidhar, and her husband Govindaraju from Kondai village located 12 km away from Medaram in Eturnagaram by Vadde Babu and Dabbagtla Goverdhan has also been brought to the cleansed Gaddelu that were decorated with flowers.

However, the arrival of Sammakka from Chilakalagutta hillock on Thursday (Feb 17) is considered the main event of the four-day jatara which is scheduled to culminate on Saturday.

“The Sammakka-Sarakka jatara, the main festival of the Adivasis, is celebrated for every two years commemorating the valour of Adivasi icons Sammakka and Sarakka, who are considered to be protectors of our community. As per the legend, they fought against the tyrannical Kakatiya rulers and sacrificed their lives for the sake of the protection of the people. We consider this jatara as the major festival, and celebrate putting on the best attire. These are the most joyous moments for the Adivasis for every two year,” said Mulugu MLA Dansari Anasuya alias Seethakka, who is also an Adivasi.

“Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 happened in 2020, there was much fear of contracting the disease, but now the cases of the Covid-19 had come down drastically due to the blessings of Goddesses Sammakka-Sarakka. I appeal people to visit in large numbers. I hope that there will be no room to even rest your foot tomorrow by the time of arrival of Sammakka from Chilakagutta near here,” the MLA added.

“During the arrival of the goddesses, the devotees sacrifice the chickens, goats and sheep along the way. While the priests carry the most revered deity, Sammakka from the Chilakalgutta hillocks in the form of a vermilion casket and the bamboo poles wrapped in a red colour sari, considered the deity possessed with magic powers, drum beats and offerings of the animals by the devotees take place. A large number of devotees shier with poonakam ( in trance), believed to be possessed by the spirits of tribal Goddesses,” said a devotee, adding that they also take a holy dip in the Jampanna vagu (rivulet) before offering prayers and offerings in the form jaggery (Bangaram), cut pieces of cloth, and bangles.

On the third day, all the deities remain on the platforms and return to their respective abodes in the forest marking the end of the festivities.

This Adivasis unique feature of the Jatara is that it is devoid of idol worship and Vedic rituals; only two wooden poles and containers of vermilion (Kumkuma bharini) as symbols of Goddesses are worshipped..

Elaborate arrangements: Meanwhile, the State government has made elaborate security arrangements for this Asia’s biggest tribal jatara with 10,300 police personnel, while the CCTV cameras and drone cameras constantly monitor situation in the vicinity of the Medaram tribal shrine and nearby villages. Facilities like makeshift toilets, battery of taps at Jampanna vagu, and other facilities were provided with a total of Rs 75 crore this year by the State government.

CM KCR’s visit: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and other Ministers including Endowments Minister Indrakaran Reddy are likely to visit the Medaram on Feb 18.

Madaram located in Tadvai Mandal in the Mulugu district is located at about 100 km from Warangal city and 250 km from Hyderabad.

Many tribal Devotees from different states of India (Madya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharastra, and Karnataka) participate in the jatara and pay obeisance.

VIPs’ visit: Meanwhile, Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod accompanied by Secretary for tribal welfare department Dr Christina Z Chongthu, Warangal West MLA Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar, Polavaram MLA from Andhra Pradesh, Tellam Balaraju and several other VIPs visited Medaram jatara. Mulugu District Collector S Krishna Aditya and SP SSG Patil are overseeing the festivities by camping at Medaram.