Sammakka Saralamma Jatara: India's largest tribal fest explained through photos

Every two years, millions of worshippers gather from across India to celebrate the grand Sammakka Saralamma Jatara festival in Medarm, Mulugu District, about 240 kilometers away from Hyderabad. It lasts for four days and is the India's largest tribal festival. Organizers anticipate around one crore visitors.

The "Samakka Saralamma Jatara," is set to welcome approximately 15 million tribal attendees from states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal.

The tribal fair honors Sammakka and her daughter Saralamma, revered as deities, on the full-moon day of Magha. They are remembered for fighting the Kakatiya dynasty's oppression and defending their tribal community and culture by sacrificing their own lives.

The tribal festival in Medaram began when Saralamma arrived at her sacred platform on Wednesday evening.

On Friday, devotees will bring Samakka from the nearby hill called Chilukalagutta. Other deities like Pagididdaraju (Sammakka deity, Husband), Govindarajulu (Saralamma deity Husband) and Nagulamma (Sammakka deity Sister) will also be brought to the platform for worship over these two days.

​People who've been staying in temporary camps at Medaram for the past two days are giving their offerings (like jaggery, sarees, and rice) to the tribal deities. This will go on until today.
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