NEWS

Medaram Jathara 2022 recently commenced

DETAILS

• Second-largest fair of India, after the Kumbh Mela
• Celebrated by the second-largest Tribal Community of Telangana- the Koya tribe
• Also known as Sammakka Saralamma Jatara.
• Tribal festival honoring the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law.
• Celebrated in the state of Telangana(declared a State Festival in 1996)
• Begins at Medaram in Tadvai Mandal in Warangal district
• Remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya, the largest surviving forest belt in the region.
• Celebrated once in two years in the month of “Magha” (February) on the full moon day
• People offer bangaram/gold (jaggery) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses and take holy bath in Jampanna Vagu, a tributary to River Godavari
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved a budget of 2.26 crores for the fair

KOYA TRIBE

• Largest adivasi tribe(SCHEDULED) of Telangana
• Spread across Telugu speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
• Call themselves as Dorala Sattam (Lords group) and Putta Dora (original lords)
• Exercise profound influence on Koyas’ economic, social and cultural life in Godavari and Sabari rivers plain
• Settled cultivators( grow Jowar, Ragi, Bajra and other millets )