Margazh
Margazh is an important festival observed by Vaishnavites. They are the followers of Ramanuja. It is observed during the whole month of Margasira. It is dedicated to Andal also called Godavere or Chudukuduta, one of the twelve Alwars or Vaishmavite saints. She loved Lord Ranganatha and become one with him. On this day everyone gets up early in the morning before 4.00 am, they bathe and go to a Vaishnava temple to attend puja. This continues for one month and the festival concludes with the celebration of the wedding of Godavari with Lord Ranganatha. This is done on grand scale and with great devotion.
Kechadmaru
Kechadmaru is celebrated by the tribals called Mathuras who inhabit Utmur Taluq in Adilbad district. This festival is meant, for unmarried girls. This is celebrated on the new moon day in the month of Shravana. All the unmarried girls of the village gather at the Naik's house on that day and sings songs in the name of the guru to the accompaniment of drums and eat gogri (mixture of wheat or bengal gram and jaggery). All the girls dance in the morning and evening for nine days. On the the tenth day they get clay, wheat or bengal gram and wet them with water. The clay is placed on the patasa leaves. This ritual is known as Dhovi. This wheat or bengal gram is sown in this clay. The girls continue singing till the next full moon day in Rakhi Purnima. They tie the rakhi to the Mathura men present there. The men folk offer presents to the girls. The group singing continues for three days. On the third day, the girls observe a fast and each one of the unmarried girls prepares feminine idol in her house and worship it. After the worship, the fast is broken. This is called Teez. In the morning of the following day, the brothers of the girls, kick away the clay idols of their respective sisters. Then the girls take the idols to front-yard of the Naik's house and keep them there. All the Mathura men folk, young and old, gather at the Naik's house and dance around these idols. The Naik offers them tea and paan. The girls collect the idols, remove the seedlings from the clay and later the clay is immersed in the nearby stream. The girls take' purampuri' with them and eat it here. The seedlings are distributed among the male members after they return to their houses. The men offer some presents and with that the festival concludes.
Sammakka Jatara
Medaram is a small village in the forest area of the Mulugu taluk of Warangal district. Here Sammakka Jatara is celebrated once in two years on a very large - scale for three days before Magha. Purnima Sammaka is a tribal goddess and the patrons and the priests are Koyas. All the tribals of Mulugu area and the thousands of other Hindus congregate there during the celebrations. There is no permanent idol of the deity. A Koya tribal boy who gets a vision before the festival roams about in the forest for a week without food and sleep and finally brings the goddess in the farm of vermilion caskets, one representing the main duty sammakka and the other her daughter Sarakka both tied to a piece of bamboo. This is installed on an earthen platform raised under a tree. Animals are sacrificed and vows are redeemed, intoxicants are widely used. Hundreds of people who are often possessed by the goddess come there dancing ecstatically throughout their journey. The special offering to the deity is jaggery which collects in huge piles. Those who fulfill vows offer jaggery equal to their weight and jaggery is distributed as prasadam. More than lakh of people congregate every day.
Batakamma Festival
Batakamma is the most popular festival throughout Teleangana and some parts of Rayalaseema. It commences on the first day of the lunar month, Aswayuja and ends on Mahamavami one day before Dussehra. This is in worship of goddess Lakshmi born as Batakamma. Every house wife, after taking bath arranges different kinds of flowers of various colours in the shape of a stupa on a platter of reeds or bamboo or brass and on the top goddess Lakshmi in turmeric is installed. This is called Batakamma. After puja, it is kept in a corner of a room and during evening all the house wives dressed in clothes and finely carry the Batakamma by turns either to a temple or lake or river side. All the images are placed on even ground and the women folk singing songs and clapping their hands, bending and rising move in a circle around them. Lastly they float the images of turmeric in the water with devotional singing. The festival goes on for nine days and the last day of the festival is called Chaddula Batakamma.
