Paper short abstract:

My paper is an examination of the distinction between making a pilgrimage and going on a “spiritual tour” in the context of the Sammakka and Sarakka festival. It is often difficult to judge whether one is on a pilgrimage or some kind of a “spiritual tourism” that is becoming more and more popular in the 21st century owing to globalization and related changes. However I intend to examine how this dichotomy is dramatized in this particular instance and to show that the gray area where pilgrimage and tourism converge seems to be the order of the day.

Paper long abstract:

Hundreds of thousands of tribals from across India throng to attend the Sammakka Sarakka Jatara festival celebrated every two years once in Medaram village in the district of Warangal, the state of Andhra Pradesh in the South of the Indian subcontinent. The feast ends with drinks and non-vegetarian dinner. The exchange of culture through the exchange of traditional foods is the remarkable feature of this feast. It is one of the most popular tribal festivals in the world which begins in Maghi Purnima (the full moon day of . February) on every alternate year. The cultural exchange of music and dance to the drums at the feast by tribes of different regions preserves some of the most original of Indian traditions in its essential forms.

Mostly the tribes of India consider the event of the Sammakka Sarakka Jatara as a spiritual and cultural gathering and the place itself as a pilgrim center. The place of pilgrimage is linked to historical events from lives of various gods. The Medaram tribal festival also includes events where the goddesses Sammakka and Sarakka fight with the enemy to save the people and village. Around thirty million tribals and others attend this event every year.

Everybody embarks upon some form of tourism during a pilgrimage in one way or the other. The genuine intentions of the pilgrims are usually unknown.