Kerala Iyers
Regions with significant populations
Palakkad district, Kerala
Travancore Region
(Thiruvananthapuram district, Alappuzha district), Kerala
Thrissur district, Kerala
Ernakulam district, Kerala
Calicut district, Kerala
Languages
Tamil, Malayalam
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Iyers, Namboothiris, Tamil Brahmin

Kerala Iyers, Pattars or Bhattars, are Tamil Brahmins of the Indian state of Kerala — people who were residents in the Kerala region, and also people who migrated from present day Tamil Nadu in different waves from the time of the Chera dynasty. They are Hindus. The community consists of two groups - the Palakkad Iyers and Iyers of the Cochin and Travancore regions.[1]

Kerala Iyers, like the Iyers of Tamil Nadu and the Nambudiris of Kerala, belonged to the Pancha-Dravida classification of India's Brahmin community. They mostly belonged to the Vadama and Brahacharanam sub-sects. Iyers were usually not recruited as the priest (shanthi) in Kerala temples which followed Tantric rituals. So Iyers being Vedic scholars built their own temples in their Agraharams to conduct pooja, since they followed different rituals and not the Tantric rituals of the Nambudiris.[2]

Brahmana Samooham

Where ever they settled, the Kerala Iyers lived together in communities. The settlement consisting of array of houses and other amenities developed by Tamil Brahmins in Kerala came to be known as Agraharam as in other parts of South India. Each Agraharam consist of two rows of houses facing each other. There is no courtyard but only common street. Several such Agraharams together form an organization called "Samooham".[3] There existed 95 Agraharams in Kerala where Brahmins lived in peace, with unity, equality and simplicity.[4]

Palakkad Iyers

The Palakkad Iyers were greatly affected by the Kerala Agrarian Relations Bill, (repealed in 1961 and substituted by The Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963) which abolished the tenancy system.[5]

Travancore Iyers

During the rule of Travancore kings, many Iyers (Tamil Brahmins) migrated to Thiruvananthapuram. Tamil Iyers migrated mostly from Tirunelveli to Thiruvanathapuram. The ancestors of the Thiruvananthapuram Iyers were brought from “Brahmadesam" (a village in Ambasamudram Taluk of Modern day Thirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu) by the Travancore Kings, to take part in the “Mura Japam” ritual of Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple. The Mura Japam ritual is a ritual where Brahmins with Sanskrit Veda knowledge participate. The migration continued for decades, and thus Iyer population is concentrated around this temple in Thiruvananthapuram.They were given agraharams around the temple and the fort, as well as in Karamana Agraharam and Chalai Agraharam.[6]

Notable people

Fictional characters

Organization

The Kerala Brahmana Sabha is the apex organization of Kerala Iyers.

Notes

  1. ↑ Sethurama Iyer is one of the most famous Fictional characters of Malayalam cinema, most importantly known for his character in the CBI film series played by actor Mammotty.

References

  1. ↑ Haridas, V. V. (2016). Zamorins and the political culture of medieval Kerala. Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan. p. 36. ISBN 9788125061281.
  2. ↑ Temples of Kerala
  3. ↑ Menon, T. Madhava; Tyagi, Deepak; Kulirani, B. Francis (2002). People of India: Kerala, Volume-27, Part-3. New Delhi: Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Ltd. pp. 1396–97. ISBN 8185938997.
  4. ↑ "Brahmins and Agraharams". Brahmin Today. Chennai: Vacha Publication. 10 (11). January 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Landmark Legislations - Land Reforms". Kerala Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  6. ↑ Nandakumar, T. "Agraharams on the way out?". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
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