Kerala Iyer
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
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Palakkad district, Kerala Travancore Region (Trivandrum district, Alappuzha district), Kerala Thrissur district, Kerala Ernakulam district, Kerala Kozhikode district, Kerala Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu Tanjore district, Tamil Nadu Thirunelveli Tamil Nadu Chennai Mumbai Bangalore |
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| Languages | |
| Kerala sub-dialects of Tamil | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Iyers, Malayali people, Tamil Brahmin, Malayali Brahmins |
Kerala Iyers 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 starting from the ancient period onwards. They belong to Hindu faith and hail from Tamil Nadu in the southern part of India. The community consists of two groups - the Palakkad Iyers and Iyers of the Cochin and Travancore regions. Starting from the period of Cera Kingdom of Mahodayapuram several groups of Tamil Brahmins migrated to different parts of Kerala. The Tamil Brahmin community were basically peace loving people, and were forced to migrate due to the social unrest and chaos caused due to the downfall of the Pandya Dynasty. The early Tamil Brahmin settlers came to Cranganore (Kodungalloor). Tamil Brahmins who came from the 14th century onwards got settled in Palakkad, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. Migrations to the Travancore and Cochin regions took place mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries AD. Many of the Diwans or Prime Ministers of the princely state of Travancore were Tamil Brahmins.
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 the Agama rituals and not the Tantric rituals of the Nambudiris.
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". There existed 95 Agraharams in Kerala where Brahmins lived in peace, with unity, equality and simplicity. From 18th century onwards Tamil Brahmins started establishing "Samooha Madoms". These were common gathering places for get together, conducting religious rites and rituals, cultural events and so on. Samooha Madoms were physically located in close proximity to the temple of the main Village Deity for the convenience of all members. It is believed that as much as 250 Samooha Modoms were established by Tamil Brahmins throughout Kerala. (KBS 2012 – Editorial) This was done with the active aid and support of the rulers of the locality. These Samooha Madoms were known by various names such as Brahmana Samooham, Gramajana Samooham, Grama Samudayam and Grama Samooham. Large land endowments were instituted by wealthy community members for the unhindered progress of different activities in these Samooha Madoms.
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