| Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer * Sir K. Seshadri Iyer Jayaram * T. N. Seshan Trisha Krishnan * Priyamani Vidya Balan |
| Total population |
|---|
| 390,000 (estimated)[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Palakkad district, Kerala Thrissur district, Kerala Ernakulam district, Kerala South Kerala Malappuram district, Kerala Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu Chennai Mumbai |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
Kerala Iyers, colloquially called Pattars, are Tamil Iyers of the Indian state of Kerala who migrated from present day Tamil Nadu in different waves starting from the medieval period onwards. The community consists of two groups - the Palakkad Iyers and Iyers of the Cochin and Travancore regions.
The first wave of Iyers settled down in Palakkad district at the beginning of the medieval period. 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.[2]
Kerala Iyers, like the Iyers of Tamil Nadu, belonged to the Pancha Dravida classification of India's Brahmin community. They mostly belonged to the Vadama and Brahacharanam sub-sects. Kerala Iyers and other Tamil Brahmins ranked below the orthodox Nambudiri Brahmins in the Malayali caste hierarchy and the touch of a Tamil/Kerala Iyer meant that the Nambudiri was defiled by Eda Shudam which required the Nambudiri to bathe before resuming rituals.[3]
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The waves of Tamil Brahmin migration into Kerala continued till the first half of 14th century, a few centuries after the decline of all the great Hindu empires of Tamil Nadu (such as Chola and Pandya dynasties). During the invasions of Malik Kafur and subsequent Muslim kingdoms, large numbers of Tamil Brahmins migrated and settled down on the western side of the Western Ghats which provided them security and safety from the invaders. Occasionally, Iyers also migrated from Tamil Nadu at the invitation from the Rajas of Kerala. The waves of Tamil Brahmin migration into Kerala continued till the first half of 20th century.
Over the years these migrants built up their own individual culture and established an identity of their own. In Kerala, they are commonly referred to as Pattars. The word 'Pattar' is derived from the word 'Bhattar', a Sanskrit word indicating Brahmins. This was one of the earlier surnames used by the Tamil Brahmins.
Iyers were usually employed as cooks, musicians and temple assistants, since they were not allowed to conduct Pooja as the priest(shanthi) in Kerala temples which followed Tantric rituals. The Iyers built their own temples in their Agraharams to conduct Pooja.[4][5]
The Tamil Brahmins who settled down in Palakkad district of Kerala, which is close to Tamil Nadu, are known as Palakkad Iyers. They were mainly from the Tanjore district in the State of Tamil Nadu. From Palghat they migrated to other parts of North Kerala which were part of the erstwhile Madras Presidency like Kozhikode and Malappuram. The mother tongue of Iyers is Tamil but the dialect that Kerala Iyer speaks is heavily influenced by Malayalam vocabulary.
The Palghat Iyers was a land holding community owning extensive cultivable land in Palghat, Chittoor and surrounding areas. They were in a majority in Palghat town. The members of the community held the office of the Municipal Chairman for a number of years.
Each Palakkad Iyer family is associated with a temple or kavu close to their land. Here,the next generation is named and their horoscope is documented.
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.[6]
Some of the Travancore Iyers were the original residents of Travancore. There were some Iyers in Venad which later on grew to be the Travancore state. Shungoonny Menon calls them Native of Travancore.[7]
There has also been a continuous inflow from Thirunelveli and Ramnad districts of Tamil Nadu which are contiguous to erstwhile princely state of Travancore. Many parts of the present Thirunelveli district were part of the old Travancore state. Some of these migrated to Cochin and later to Palakkad and Kozhikode districts.
During the rule of Travancore kings, many Iyers (Tamil Brahmins) were invited to Thiruvananthapuram for participating in rituals related to Padmanabhaswamy Temple. These migration continued for decades, and thus Iyer population is concentrated around this temple in Trivandrum.
Unlike Palakkad Iyers, Travancore Iyers language is more Malayalam with only a slight mix of Tamil words.
The Iyers were one of the first to take to English education. A large number of them were employed in the government of the erstwhile states of Travancore and Cochin. A large number of government officials at the time of formation of Kerala were from the community. There were also a number of lawyers, doctors, engineers and traders. They were also employed as cooks, musicians and temple assistants, since they were not considered qualified to conduct Pooja as the main priest(mel-shanthi) in Kerala where Tantra-Vidhi is followed by Namboothiri Brahmins.
The Travancore Pattars have played a very important role in the history of Travancore. The community was close to the Royal family of Travancore. They occupied the post of Karyasthas to the royal family members. Travancore Pattars had a number of Dewans and administrators from the community.
The Kerala Iyers have also played an important role as indigenous Bankers. Later on they have been instrumental in forming a number of Banking companies. They played a prominent role in the formation and running of the erstwhile Travancore Bank Ltd which is now State Bank of Travancore.
Kerala Iyers played an important role in developing the culture of Kerala. They effectively imported the dance form of Bharathanatyam and Carnatic Music to Kerala, as well as developing local cuisine by introducing flavours of Tamil food.