Sammakka Saralakka The Famous Folk Festival

Sammakka Saralakka:

Sammakka Saralakka is a famous village fair in Telangana, India. The village fairs are very renowned in ruler areas. Especially the folk festivals celebrate in the tribal areas. These folk festivals and village fairs are the Icons of the traditional culture of Indian society. Sammakka, Saralakka village fair is very famous in South India, and celebrate it at Madaram village, Warangal District, Telangana. The famous Sammakka Saralakka fair is the leading village fair of Telangana State.

Sammakka Saralakka History:

Medaram is a tribal area. Here the people celebrate this village fair with utmost devotion and respect. There is a story about the celebration of the Sammakka Saralakka village fair.

During the Kakatiya dynasty, Medaram was a small tribal area. Here the people’s primary occupation was hunting. Every day the tribal people went to the nearby forests to hunt the animals and gather honey. One day the people saw a little child playing with wild animals. They find that the child is not afraid of wild animals, and the animals also favour moving affectionately with the girl. Then the tribal people were astonished at the scene and intended with each other that the girl was not an ordinary child of others. They thought God’s blessings were more on her, so they brought her to their village and worshipped her by treating them as the Goddess of the Village. They gave her the name ‘Sammakka’. All the villagers brought her up as their daughter.

Sammakka Superficial Powers:

She shows superficial powers like bringing sight to blind people and others. She cured different diseases. This news spread all over, and many people started to go to the small village for her blessings and worshipped her with great devotion. When Sammakka came to age, the villagers performed the marriage with Paidi Raju at great pumps. They were blessed with a boy and a girl. They were named Jampanna and Saralamma.

Kakatiya Pressure on Tribals For Tax:

Kakatiyas administration pressured the tribal people for taxes. The tribal people in Medaram were impoverished and had insufficient money to pay taxes. The soldiers tortured the tribals for taxes. Then Sammakka and Paidi Raju couple inspired the tribal people about the importance of freedom. The couple encouraged the soldiers and sent them back without paying the taxes. The Kakatiya army commander received the news. He got furious and went to invade Madaram—a fierce battle sprouted among the Kakatiyas and tribals on the banks of the Sampangi canal. The Kakatiya army killed sAralamma and Paidi Raju. Jampanna is wounded severely and falls into the Sampangi Cannal. Since then, the Sampangi canal has been called ‘jampanna Vagu’.

Sammakka Disappears:

Sammakka courageously slaughtered the Kakatiya Army. Furious Sammakka takes the Kakatiya soldiers away from the battlefield. Then the commander of the Kakatiya army hid behind her back and stabbed her with a knife, then Sammakka disappeared from the spot and never appeared. Then the tribal people lamented for her.

Pratap Rudra and Folk Festival:

One night a holy goddess appeared in a dream of king Pratapa Rudra and narrated how the tribal had been torching for taxes. She also encouraged him that if the torch continued, the entire Kakatiya dynasty would fall into danger and said that Sammakka, Sarakka, Paidi Raju and jampanna were the messengers of God. So celebrate a village fair in the name of Sammakka and Saralakka.

The next day king Pratap Rudradevudu enunciated the decree of collecting tax from the tribals. He encouraged the people to celebrate the Sammakka Saralakka Village Fair. The village Fair celebrates every two years, and many devotees visit to pay tribute to Sammakka and Saralakka.