Hyderabad: The northeastern district of Mulugu has been proposed to be renamed Sammakka-Saralamma Mulugu District.
The district formed by bifurcating the Jayashankar Bhupalpally district in 2019 is set to be renamed after Sammakka and Saralamma, two tribal deities on whose honour the Medaram Jatara is celebrated.
On Saturday, June 29, the district panchayat officer issued a circular asking to conduct special grama sabhas to discuss the matter on July 3. Any objections should be submitted to the district collector.
Legend behind Sammakka and Saralamma
There are many legends about the miraculous powers of Sammakka and Saralamma. A 13th-century tribal legend says that some tribal leaders found Sammakka as a newborn girl enveloped in light playing amidst tigers while hunting.
They took her to their chief, who adopted and raised her as a leader. She was married to Pagididda Raju, the Koya tribal chief. They had two daughters and a son, Sarakka alias Saralamma, Nagulamma, and Jampanna.
Medaram was then ruled by the Kakatiyas of Warangal. King Prataprudra of the Kakatiyas imposed taxes on the Koya Tribe, which they could not meet resulting in a war between Kakatiyas and the Koya Tribe. Pagididda Raju, Sammakka’s husband was killed in the battle forcing the grief-stricken widow to pick up arms with her children Saralamma and Jampanna, along with her son-in-law Govinda Raju.
Sammakka had almost won when Saralamma died in the battle. Jampanna was mortally wounded and fell bleeding into a stream which later came to be known after him. Legend has it that the stream turned red from the blood and was renamed “Jampanna Vaagu”.
Distraught, Sammakka retired to a hill called Chilakala Gutta and turned into a jar filled with kumkuma powder. After the battle, Sammakka and Saralamma were deified and a festival was organized in their honour once every two years. To this day, the Koya tribe and devotees consider Sammakka and Saralamma as their guardian deities.
The Medaram Jatara is a celebration to honour their sacrifice. The Kumkuma jar is brought to Medaram and people wash themselves in Jampanna Vaagu, followed by an offering of jaggery to Sammakka and Saralamma.
