Karra Saamu, also known as ‘stick fight’, is a popular performance quite popular in a few villages in
Guntur,
Krishna,
East Godavari and
West Godavari districts of
Andhra Pradesh. This performance is commonly seen during festivals and marriage processions.
In ancient days, it was adopted as a defense mechanism by the men folk to protect themselves from thefts.
The performance of this stick fight is as follows: the stick used is a thin, 9 ft long bamboo piece with half an inch circumference. To produce violent noise during the performance, 'Dappu' (drum), 'Bigli' (whistle) and 'Taasha' are used by performers. Different tricks are adopted by the artists. Two fighters enter the ground from opposite corners, by swinging their sticks and moving forward with careful steps to the beats of the musical instruments. As soon as the two opponents meet at the center, the fight begins.
Sometimes more fighters join the ground which makes the fight more intense and engrossing. Occasionally the fighters use sticks that have flames burning at one end.
