Amid tight police security, Sammakka, the presiding deity of the Medaram tribal shrine, was ceremoniously brought to the Gadde (sacred platform) by the Koya priests led by the chief priest Siddaboina Jagga Rao on Thursday night.
Despite the police cordoning off the Chilakalagutta hillock, abode of Sammakka during the normal days, a large number of devotees gathered to witness the procession, marking the main event of the four-day biennial Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara.
Around 4 p.m., the priests climbed the hillock to bring the goddess in the form of vermilion in a casket. Adhering to traditional rituals, the team, accompanied by Koya community volunteers, later descended the hillock. Upon reaching the base, Superintendent of Police (SP-Mulugu) P. Shabarish fired three rounds into the air from a gun in honour of Sammakka, signalling the commencement of the procession from the hillock, approximately two km from the shrine.
Many devotees climbed trees to catch a glimpse of the procession whereas many others sacrificed fowls, goats and sheep on the way leading to the shrine. Women devotees and transgenders drew the ‘Muggulu’ (drawings made of colour) on the path.
Prior to Sammakka’s arrival, priests had brought ‘Kanka Vanam’ (bamboo sticks) from the nearby forest and performed rituals honouring village deities at the ‘Bodrai’. Devotees arriving since morning offered prayers to various tribal deities, including Saralamma (Sarakka), Pagididda Raju, Govinda Raju and Jamppanna, already present at the shrine. Sarakka had been brought to the Gadde on Wednesday midnight.
Officials have provided helmets to the shrine staff on duty. Nodal officers, including S. Krishna Aditya, monitored the crowd from atop the watchtower at the Gaddelu and issued instructions to sector officials via wireless sets. The command control room and CCTV control room continuously monitored the fair, issuing directives to manage the flow of devotees smoothly as lakhs thronged the shrine. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda are expected to visit the Medaram shrine on Friday.
