KeralaIyers or Bhattars, are Brahmins of the Indian state of Kerala — people who were residents in the Kerala region, and also people who migrated from present dayTamil Nadu. They are Hindus. The community consists of two groups - the Palakkad Iyers and Iyers of the Cochin and Travancoreregions. 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 in Kerala temples which followed Purva mimamsa rituals. So Iyers being Vedic scholars built their own temples in their Agraharams to conduct pooja, since they followed rituals different from the srauta rituals of the Nambudiris.
Brahmin society
Wherever 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.
Palakkad Iyers
The Palakkad Iyers were not entirely affected by the Kerala Agrarian Relations Bill, 1957 which abolished the tenancy system. Originally, the Palakkad Iyers came from the 19 villages chronicled by William Logan in his 1887 guide to Malabar District. However, today the term covers Iyers from a broader territory.
Travancore Iyers
During the rule of Travancore kings, many Iyers 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.
