Warangal: The main tribal Godesses Sammakka Saralamma’s  four day Jatara started on Wednesday evening by Chief priest Kaka Saraiah. Tribal priests brought goddess Saralamma’s idol, in the form of kumkum bharani (vermilion casket) to Medaram marking the beginning of Sammakka Saralamma Jatara from Kannepally village to Medaram.

Thousands of devotees waited in a serpentine queue that stretched close to four kms and extended up to Kannepally village. The procession began around 7 pm after the tribal priests and their family members invoked goddesses and performed rituals at Saralmma temple. Chief priest Kaka Saraiah, his face covered in red colour cloth, carrying the deity to the altar in Medaram while devotees prostrated along the route from Kannepally to Medaram, was decorated with colour ful garlands of flowers and mango leaves.

As the deity was brought the altar, devotees danced amidst drum beats and blowing of traditional horns. As many as 482 police personnel were deployed at the venue to escort the deities and thus ensure the safety and security of both priests and devotees.Earlier in the day, the tribal priests brought Padigiddaraju, husband of goddess Sammakka, from Punugondla in Mahabubabad and Govindaraju, husband of Saralamma, from Kondai village of Eturnagaram and Nagulamma, sister of Sammakka to the altar.

Saralamma was brought to the altar, thousands of devotees took a holy dip at the Jampanna Vagu before proceeding to the Sammakka Sarakka shrine to offer bangaram (jaggery) to the deities. Mulugu Collector S Krishna Aditya and SP Sangram Singh G Patil supervised the security measures to avoid any untoward incidents.