As the darkness enveloped the thick bushes of bamboo forest over the Chilkalgutta hillocks, around 6.30 p.m. several rounds were fired from an AK 47 assault rifle by Superintendent of Police S. S. G. Patil heralding the arrival of most revered and much awaited deity Sammakka here on Thursday.
The beat of drums by Adivasis devotees reached a crescendo and roar of people rented the air.
It is here the people in hundreds and thousands waited with bated breath to witness the arrival of tribal deity Sammakka from atop the hillocks. This was the most auspicious moment they were waiting for.
Many assembled at the spot right at dawn and their numbers swelled with every passing minute. District Collector R. V. Karnan, SP S. S. G. Patil, Adivasi MLAs D. Sitakka and Podem Veeraiah, ministers Satyavathi Rathod and Errabelli Dayakar Rao and a host of public representatives were present.
Traditional offerings
As usual, the tribal priests and police personnel had tough time with the crowds during their procession towards the altar at Medaram village. The ardent devotees swayed in trance and some flung the fowls into the air as a symbol of sacrifice to the goddess, women in good numbers rolled on the roads hoping to get the tribal priests walk over them, others spruced up the road and beautified the path with rangoli and others sacrificed animals and spilled blood as mark of their respect towards the deity. It took over two hours for the priests to reach the altar at Medaram, two km from the Chilkalgutta hillocks.
Some devotees sprinkled the blood of animals into air they just sacrificed against the racing tribal priests and those accompanying them in a show of their reverence. The spectacle raked a chill in the spine of onlookers. Each unfolding moment was alluring and disgusting at the same time.
The roar of hundreds of buses carrying pilgrims into the jungles is relentless.
Patient wait
There were serpentine queues with devotees inching their way towards the altar. As they raised slogans hailing the deities, children blew trumpets in high pitch unendingly much to discomfort of fellow devotees. The women sporting turmeric and vermilion on faces and balancing the lumps of jaggery on their heads patiently waited to reach the altar. People were seen waiting through the night braving the chill weather.