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The Jatra at Medaram, about 100 kilometers from Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, is a grand celebration of a historical event that acquired intense religious significance for the Girijans.  The Jatra takes place once in two years on Full Moon day in the month of Maagha, generally in February.  It is a tribal festival invoking the Girijan women warriors Sammakka and Saaralamma of the times of Kakatiya rule under King Pratapa Rudra in the 13^th Century A.D.  Having been killed in the war with the Kakatiyas, these women had been subsequently deified by the Girijans.

For the Jatra organized by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as a State Festival, millions of tribals and others go to Medaram by bullock carts, buses, and other modes of transportation from all neighbouring villages and towns in the State and from the States of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.  It’s a sea of humanity there, spreading far and wide across the horizon.

Medaram is a tiny village with hardly fifty houses and sparse population. In normal times it is a sleepy village tucked away in jungles and surrounded by hillocks, inhabited by innocent Girijans, leading quiet lives cultivating the lands.  But once in two years the village draws the attention of the world outside with tumultuous crowds and hysterical sounds.  Millions of Girijans throng the village in a state of religious ecstasy.  It looks as though the floodgates of spirituality are suddenly opened and the visions of the deities held all along in the minds of the devotees have suddenly materialized on the thrones at Medaram.  To the millions of devotees, Sammakka and Saaralamma are not historical figures but deities ever present in their hearts and protecting them.

Here in the jungles at Medaram is a place where history replete with bloody battles and religiosity of the highest order seem to coalesce.  It is perhaps the Government’s recognition of the universal truth concerning the self-assertion of the weak in the face of suppression by the mighty.  A bridge has been constructed across the Jampona Vagu to facilitate easy movement. It is said that the State Government’s idea of constructing a temple at Medaram for the deities has not been acceptable to the Girijan elders since for them Sammakka and Saaralamma are the moving spirits in their lives, ever present in their hearts, coming in their midst once in two years and granting them boons.  Idols of Sammakka and Saaralamma have been sculpted for installation on the thrones.

One of the battles fought in Warangal during the Kakatiya rule was between King Pratapa Rudra and the Girijan tribal chief Medaraju in which his daughter Sammakka and her daughter Saaralamma fought valiantly and died. The battle between the trained Kakatiya army and the unsophisticated tribal warriors is remembered with religious fervour not only by the Girijans and others but also celebrated as a festival once in two years.

The Medaram Jatra is celebrated by way of consecration of the sacrifice by the two Girijan women for the welfare of their community which was being subjected to exploitation by man and exposed to the vagaries of Nature in jungles. The festivities take place in a climate of intense faith.

On the first day of the three-day Jatra, the deity Saaralamma is brought by the Girijan priests after elaborate rituals from Kannepalli in a procession of Girijans and other devotees.  The deity is symbolized by KumKum contained in the hollow of a gourd, and decorated with peacock feathers and bells.  As the deity is being brought to the throne, there will be ecstatic songs and dances by the Girijans swinging to the rhythmical drum-beating. The whole forest area reverberates. The Girijan priests walk over the prostrate devotees.  As the deity is being brought, the devotees jostle with one another and surge forward to touch the priests.  They feel sanctified by touching the priests.  As one of the devotees, “possessed� by the deity, dances around the tree at the throne of Saaralamma, the Girijan priest would inquire who she is. She yells that she is Saaralamma. Then the priests perform pujas inside the enclosure and install the deity.

In fact, at the same time as Saaralamma is being brought to the throne from Kannepalli, from Kondai village in Eturnagaram Mandal, the priests bring Sammakka’s husband Pagididda Raju from Punugolla of Kothaguda Mandal to Sammakka’s throne adjacent.  After Poojas, they install Saaralamma, Govindarajulu, and Pagididda Raju on their thrones with songs and dances to the accompaniment of drum-beating.

It is customary for childless women to take Saaralamma’s Prasadam to be blessed with children.  Women gather in large numbers for this ritual.

On the second day evening of the Jatra, the Girijan priests would go to Chilakalagutta, sacred origins of the deity Sammakka, and perform elaborate ritual to invite the deity to the throne at Medaram.  As the deity, symbolized by turmeric and KumKum contained in the hollows of a gourd, is being brought by the priests, devotees hysterically sing and dance to the accomplishment of drum-beating.  As the deity Sammakka is being installed on the throne, there will be a gun salute, the District Superintendent of Police firing three rounds into the air by way of heralding the arrival of the deity.  The District Collector, High Court ridges and other important officials too follow the procession.  It’s a sea of humanity stretching over vast areas of the forest region.  On hearing the gun salute, the multitudes of devotees move swiftly like tides of the ocean to touch the sacred precincts.  The devotees are intensely excited to see the deities they have all along been visualizing in their minds.

The installation of the deity on the throne is followed by sacrifice of fowls and goats as per the tribal custom.  And shrill sounds of the Girijan drums are heard, transporting people into the realm of divine frenzy.  Once the deity is installed on the throne, several devotees are seen peeling off the bark of the tree at the platform to preserve it in their homes for daily worship.  After the hurling aloft of the fowls welcoming the deity, the devotees would offer turmeric, kumkum, jaggery and coconut.  Tons of jaggery and thousands of coconuts are offered by the devotees around the thrones.  The two thrones (platforms) and the trees there constitute the temple of Sammakka and Saralamma, in the view of the Girijans.

An important ritual in the Jatra is the installing of the “Forest Deity� on the throne after Sammakka and Saaralamma are installed.  The Girijans live mainly on the forest products and an important item for them is the bamboo.  Before bringing home the forest products, bringing the bamboo is essential for them since it has medicinal value.  The Girijans feel they could realize their desires by touching the priests who bring the “Forest Deity� to the throne.  In the process, there will sometimes be stampede.  The bamboos smeared with turmeric are installed on the thrones alongside the hollows of gourd containing turmeric and kumkum representing the deities.

The historical details available concerning the tribal women Sammakka and Saaralamma are more through oral narratives coming down the ages than authentic inscriptions as in the case of the other aspects of Kakatiya history. The history of the tribals and their battles with the Kakatiya ruler Pratapa Rudra have subsequently acquired a mythological aura, involving deep religious faith on the part of the Girijans and others.  However, the history of the tribal women Sammakka and Saaralamma has subsequently acquired a mythological significance resulting in religious festivities observed even by the State Government.

In the 13^th Century A.D., when King Pratapa Rudra was ruling over the Kakatiya empire with Warangal as the Capital, the Koya tribal lord Medaraju was a vassal with Karinagaram (the present Karimnagar) as his Capital. One day, some Koya tribesmen were hunting a wild boar in the labyrinths of the dark forest.  As they were chasing the boar, it ran to a great distance and disappeared into the forest.  One of the tribals got up a tree and looked around for the boar.  He was amazed to see at a distance on an open stretch of land in the midst of the forest an infant lying on the ground and encircled by a large number of tigers.  He shouted for his companions.  They rushed to the spot, beating drums, and the tigers left.  The tribals brought the baby to their lord, Medaraju who named her Sammakka and brought her up.  The miracle child displayed extraordinary courage as she grew up.  In course of time, Medaraju gave Sammakka in marriage to his nephew Pagididdaraju.  The couple were blessed with two daughters, Saaralamma and Nagulamma and a son, Jampanna.

Medaram and the surrounding areas under the rule of Pagididdaraju, a vassal of the Kakatiya monarch, were severely affected by draught for many years, resulting in the Girijans� inability to pay taxes.  Unable to collect taxes from the Girijans, Pagididdaraju could not pay the annual tribute to the monarch Pratapa Rudra.  The monarch was angry and sent his army to attack the vassal.  A fierce battle ensued between the Kakatiya army and the Girijans at Sampengavagu. The tribals fought valiantly, although an unequal battle, with the trained army of the Kakatiyas.  In that battle, the Koya lord’s daughters Saaralamma, Nagulamma, and son-in-law Govindarajulu died.  Unable to withstand the humiliating defeat at the hands of Kakatiyas, Jampanna committed suicide by jumping into Sampengavagu.  During the Jatra the devotees take bath in that stream.

When her husband Pagididdaraju fell on the battlefield, Sammakka entered the arena and fought valiantly, putting the enemy soldiers in utter disarray for some time.  As she was fighting fiercely, she was hit by the enemy in a stealthy manner.  Having been wounded in the and bleeding, Sammakka ran towards Chilukalagutta and disappeared.  After the tribal warriors� long search for her, they found near the Nemalinara tree kum kum and turmeric.  Since then once in two years, on Full Moon day, in the month of Maagha, the Girijans started worshipping Sammakka as a deity at the place where kum kum and turmeric were found.  It is said that subsequently King Pratapa Rudra regretted and allowed the Koya tribals to rule over their own realm without paying the annual tribute to him.

To this day the Girijans feel that Sammakka and Saaralamma are the very embodiment of their suffering and spirit of sacrifice. When the girijans visualise the two women, the age-old stories of valour and tenacity of their tribe come to them in an epiphany, as it were resulting in the tribals worshipping them as their goddesses.

Thus during the Jatra, once in two years on Full Moo day in the month of Magha, generally in February, history comes alive for millions of tribals as a source of religious experience and guidance for their future lives.