Sammakka Jatara
Medaram
is a small village in the forest area of the Mulugu taluk of Warangal district.
Here Sammakka Jatara is celebrated once in two years on a very large -
scale for three days before Magha.
Purnima Sammaka is a tribal goddess and the patrons and the priests are Koyas.
All the tribals of Mulugu area and the thousands of other Hindus congregate
there during the celebrations. There is no permanent idol of the deity.
A Koya tribal boy who gets a vision before the festival roams about in the
forest for a week without food and sleep and finally brings the goddess in the
farm of vermilion caskets, one representing the main duty sammakka and the other
her daughter Sarakka both tied to a piece of bamboo. This is installed on an
earthen platform raised under a tree. Animals are sacrificed and vows are
redeemed, intoxicants are widely used. Hundreds of people who are often
possessed by the goddess come there dancing ecstatically throughout their
journey. The special offering to the deity is jaggery which collects in huge
piles. Those who fulfill vows offer jaggery equal to their weight and jaggery is
distributed as prasadam.
More than lakh of people congregate every day.
Batakamma Festival
Batakamma
is the most popular festival throughout Teleangana and some parts of Rayalaseema.
It commences on the first day of the lunar month, Aswayuja and ends on
Mahamavami one day before Dussehra. This is in worship of goddess Lakshmi
born as Batakamma. Every house wife, after taking bath arranges different kinds
of flowers of various colours in the shape of a stupa on a platter of reeds or
bamboo or brass and on the top goddess Lakshmi in turmeric is installed.
This is called Batakamma. After puja, it is kept in a corner of a room and
during evening all the house wives dressed in clothes and finely carry the
Batakamma by turns either to a temple or lake or river side. All the images are
placed on even ground and the women folk singing songs and clapping their hands,
bending and rising move in a circle around them. Lastly they float the images of
turmeric in the water with devotional singing. The festival goes on for
nine days and the last day of the festival is called Chaddula Batakamma.
