Sammakka Saralamma Jatara or Medaram Jatara is a tribal festival of honouring the goddesses celebrated in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. 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, the Medaram jatara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country.

It is celebrated in Medaram

Medaram

Medaram is a village in Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh, India. A popular religious congregation or Jatara called "Samakka sarakka" jatara takes place for three days biennially in this village. This is deemed to be second largest congregation in India, only after the Kumbha Mela...

 during the time the goddesses of the tribals is believed to visit them. Medaram is a remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary

Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary

Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Eturnagaram village in Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located 250 km away from Hyderabad.-Sanctuary:...

, a part of Dandakaranya

Dandakaranya

Dandakaranya is a spiritually significant region in India. It is roughly equivalent to the Bastar District in the central east part of India...

, the largest surviving forest belt in the Deccan.

The Ritual

Sammakka Sarakka Jatara is the time for the largest tribal religious congregation in the world, held every two years (biennually), with approximately six million people converging on the place, over a period of three days, which is 90 km from Warangal city.

People offer bangaram (jaggery

Jaggery

Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...

) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses.

It is a festival with no vedic or brahmanic influence. Goats and hens are sacrificed and liquor is consumed.

Until 1998, the only way to reach Medaram was by a bullock cart

Bullock cart

A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen . It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them.Used especially for carrying goods,...

. In 1998 the state government declared the 1000-yr old festival as official and laid down a motorable road.

In 2008, nearly 8 million people were estimated to have attended the festival. This fair is said to be the largest repeating congregation of tribal communities in the world. The traffic jam during the festival sometimes goes as far as 60 km on the Warangal

Warangal

Warangal is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District. This district is a combination of three cities: Warangal,...

 highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

.