Attention, strong images.
Sammakka Sarakka Jatara is a tribal animist festival, held at the village of Medaram, about 250 km from the city of Hyderabad, in India. It is the largest tribal congregation in the world, held every two years, with approximately ten million people converging on the place, over a period of four days. This festival has no Vedic or brahmanic influence. In the 13th century, some tribal leaders who went for a hunting found a new born girl (Sammakka) emitting enormous light playing amidst tigers. She was taken to their habitation, and the head of the tribe adopted her and brought up as a chief. Since then, she has become a goddess who protects the tribal community. Saralamma, one of her daughters, is also worshiped at this festival. The goddess is not represented by any images or statues. Her manifestation is made only by nature.
Ci avevano detto che Medaram sarebbe stata facile da raggiungere e che una volta arrivati ad Hyderabad, in qualche ora ce l’avremmo fatta. Saliamo su un autobus pubblico per la nostra destinazione finale e scopriamo, facendo la media delle informazioni che gli altri passeggeri ci danno, che non sarebbe stato un viaggio semplice e, soprattutto, che non sarebbe stato così veloce come avevamo pensato…
