Sammakka-Saralamma Back to Forest as Medaram Festival Draws to a Close

The famed Medaram Sammakka-Saralamma Mahajatra , Asia’s largest tribal festival, concluded on Saturday night with grand celebrations. The four-day event, which drew millions of devotees , came to a close as the forest deities were ceremoniously escorted back to the wilderness. Devotees from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and several other states had flocked to Medaram in large numbers.

On the final night, priests performed traditional rituals , returning the goddesses to their respective abodes— Sammakka to Chilukalagutta and Saralamma to Kannepalle. Devotees offered prayers and expressed their desire to reunite with the deities during the next 2028 festival . Over the past four days, Medaram village transformed into a sea of devotees , who took holy dips in the Jampanna Vagu stream, offered jaggery (belle) to the goddesses, and fulfilled their vows. With the deities’ return to the forest, the spiritual fervor around Medaram came to a close.

The massive turnout of devotees severely impacted the transportation system . As pilgrims began their return journey after darshan , a traffic jam extending nearly 14 kilometers formed from Medaram to Tadwai. Vehicles remained stuck for over eight hours , causing significant inconvenience. In some areas, congestion stretched to nearly 20 kilometers . Roads were completely filled with devotees, paralyzing the transport system . Thousands of pilgrims crowded the RTC bus stand , but buses were largely unavailable despite long waits. Officials acknowledged that lack of coordination among police and authorities contributed to the difficulties faced by the devotees.