{{Short description|Brahmin subcaste}} {{more citations needed|date=September 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}} {{Infobox ethnic group | image = | group = Kerala Iyers | pop = | popplace = [[Palakkad district]], [[Kerala]]<br>[[Travancore|Travancore Region]]<br>([[Thiruvananthapuram district]], [[Alappuzha district]]), Kerala<br>[[Thrissur district]], Kerala<br>[[Ernakulam district]], Kerala<br>[[Calicut district]], Kerala{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} | languages = [[Brahmin Tamil|Tamil]], [[Malayalam]], [[Sanskrit]] | religions = [[Hinduism]] | related = [[Iyers]], [[Namboothiris]], [[Tamil Brahmin]] }}
'''Kerala Iyers''', '''Pattars''' or '''Bhattars''' are [[Hindu]] [[Brahmins]] of the Indian state of [[Kerala]]; people who were residents in the Kerala region. The word "Pattar" originated from the [[Sanskrit]] word "[[Bhat]]", which is a common surname of [[North India|Northern]] Brahmin Clans. The community consists of two groups: the [[Palakkad district|Palakkad]] Iyers and the Iyers of the [[Kingdom of Cochin|Cochin]] and [[Travancore]] regions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Zamorins and the political culture of medieval Kerala|last=Haridas|first=V. V.|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2016|isbn=9788125061281|location=Hyderabad|page=36}}</ref>
Kerala Iyers, like the Iyers of Tamil Nadu and the [[Nambudiri]]s 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 [[Tantra|Tantric]] rituals. So Iyers being Vedic scholars built their own temples in their [[Agraharams]] to conduct [[wikt:puja|puja]], since they followed different rituals and not the Tantric rituals of the Nambudiris.<ref>[http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Temples_of_Kerala Temples of Kerala]</ref>
== 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".<ref>{{Cite book|title=People of India: Kerala, Volume-27, Part-3|last=Menon|first=T. Madhava|last2=Tyagi|first2=Deepak|last3=Kulirani|first3=B. Francis|publisher=Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Ltd.|year=2002|isbn=8185938997|location=New Delhi|pages=1396–97}}</ref>
== Palakkad Iyers == The Palakkad Iyers are the [[Iyer]]s, who settled in today's Palakkad region centuries before, during the rule of the Palakkad Kings. Their mother tongue is Tamil and they speak Malayalam outside their homes. The Palakkad Iyers were greatly affected by the Kerala [[Liberation Struggle (Kerala)|Agrarian Relations Bill]], (repealed in 1961 and substituted by [[Land reform in Kerala|The Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963]]) which abolished the [[tenancy]] system.<ref name="keralagovt_legislations">{{Cite web|url=http://niyamasabha.org/codes/bus_1_1.htm|title=Landmark Legislations - Land Reforms|access-date=2008-08-27|publisher=Kerala Legislative Assembly}}</ref>
== Travancore Iyers == During the rule of [[Travancore]] kings, many Iyers (Tamil Brahmins) migrated to [[Thiruvananthapuram]]. Tamil Iyers migrated mostly from Tirunelveli to [[Thiruvananthapuram]]. 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 [[Padmanabhaswamy Temple|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.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/agraharams-on-the-way-out/article2305300.ece | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu | first=T. | last=Nandakumar | title=Agraharams on the way out?}}</ref>
== Notable people == <!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia, and that mentions them being an Iyer ♦♦♦---> <!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> * [[Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer]] * [[Vidya Balan]] * [[Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar]] * [[V. Dakshinamoorthy]] * [[Ranjani-Gayatri]] * [[Hariharan (singer)|Hariharan]] * [[Apsara Iyer]] * [[Divya S. Iyer]] * [[Palghat Mani Iyer]] * [[Shreyas Iyer]] * [[Jayaram]] * [[Ajith Kumar]] * [[Shankar Mahadevan]] * [[Priyamani]] * [[Vivek Ramaswamy]] * [[Malayattoor Ramakrishnan]] * [[TN Seshan]] * [[M. S. Thripunithura]] * [[Trisha Krishnan]] * [[V. R. Krishna Iyer]]
== Organization == The [[Kerala Brahmana Sabha]] is the apex organization of Kerala Iyers.
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[http://www.keralaiyers.com Kerala Iyers Website]
[[Category:Tamil society]] [[Category:Tamil Brahmins]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Kerala]]