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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 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The Palakkad Iyers were greatly affected by the Kerala Agrarian Relations Bill, 1957 (repealed in 1961 and substituted by The Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963) which abolished the tenancy system.[5]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) were invited to Thiruvananthapuram for administrative requirements of Travancore kingdom and for participating in rituals related to Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Some Padamangalam Nairs involved in temple service are thought to be descendants of Travancore Iyers. The migration continued for decades, and thus Iyer population is concentrated around this temple in Trivandrum.[6]
Notable people
- Vidya Balan
- Palghat Mani Iyer
- M.D.Ramanathan
- K.V.Narayanaswamy
- Shankar Mahadevan, a popular National Award-winning musician who has sung many songs in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu[7]
- Trisha Krishnan
- Divya S. Iyer
- Nandalal Krishnamoorthy
- Shreyas Iyer
- Priyamani
- TN Seshan
Organization
The Kerala Brahmana Sabha is the apex organization of Kerala Iyers.
References
- ↑ Zamorins and the political culture of medieval Kerala{{#if:Haridas|, Haridas}. Orient Blackswan(2016). ISBN 9788125061281
- ↑ Temples of Kerala
- ↑ People of India: Kerala, Volume-27, Part-3{{#if:Menon|, Menon}. Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Ltd.(2002). ISBN 8185938997
- ↑ Brahmins and Agraharams. Brahmin Today({Template:Date).
- ↑ Landmark Legislations - Land Reforms. Kerala Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
- ↑ Agraharams on the way out?. The Hindu.
- ↑ Template:Cite interview