Medaram Jatara Schedule For 2022 Finalised

Next year's schedule for Asia's largest biennial tribal congregation, the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, known more commonly as the Medaram Jatara, has been finalised.

The schedule released by the organisers of the biennial festival revealed that it would be held from February 16 to 19, 2022. It will be organised in the forest area of Tadvai mandal, 44 km away from the Mulugu district's headquarters.

The festivities will be flagged off with the arrival of the tribal deity Saralamma at Medaram village from Kannepally which is about two km away from the village. The deities will reportedly be taken back to their respective places by tribal priests on February 19, marking the close of the Jatara.

During the prayers, devotees will, as usual, offer jaggery to the presiding deities.

It is the nation's second-largest congregation, smaller only than the Kumbh Mela. Around 2 crore people take part in the festivities - devotees from Telangana as well as from the neighbouring states of Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh throng to Medaram to participate in the congregation.

The massively popular festival is held to honour the tribal goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma, and the rituals are all carried out by priests of the Kya tribe in accordance with Koya customs and traditions. The Jatara is an important part of the culture of the state and its contiguous regions.