What caste (varna) are Malayalees in?

Question

I have heard that they are in the lowest "untouchable" caste. How true is this?

Answer 1

No. Malayalees are not untouchables. Like any other State in India in Malayalees (Keralites) also have the for varnas - the Brahman, the Kshatriya, the Vaishya, and the Shudra. What you have heard is not correct. In fact the Brahmanas of Malayalees are the most orthodox and they observe many daily rituals etc. -

Answer 2

It isn't true that they belong to the lowest caste. Malayalees have different castes just like in other places e.g., Namboodris are equivalent to the Pandits in the North as they are Brahmins. Similarly there are different castes in Malayalees.

Answer 3

Hindu Malayalees belong to four Varnas--
1. Brahmin --Namboodris ( Shankaracharya was a namboodri. )
2. Kshatriya-- Kerala rulers- Vermas
3. vaishyas--Traders
4. Shoodras--Lower castes, periahs, Ezhavas, Ezhuthachchans
Although Menons/ Pillais // Panikkars R all nairs, the warriors, technically they count as shoodras.

Answer 4

I go with Neil.

But whatever uve heard is wrong. U cant just say someone to be of a low caste based on a language.

There are many castes in Malayalees.

Namboodhris are brahmins.
Panikars are equivalent to Brahmins.
Chozhias.
Nairs.
Seilias

and many more.

Answer 5

Depends on their merit, just like everyone else. Birth has nothing to do with varna. Both the Rg Veda and Mahabharata support this claim.

Answer 6

Thre seems to be a lot of misconceptions about the varuna and castes all ove r Inida and out side too.In India each state has its own linguistic groups as the states have been partitioned on the basis of the languages .In each ligusistic group there are as manycastes as there are in any liguistic group.There are brahmnins , and no-brahmnins of all castes in all states which are simailarly placed in social order .In fact the Namboodries who are Brahmnins have no equivalent in any state in India .They consider the other /Brahmoins as inferior to them. the community was so caste status conscious that they treated people of all castes as inferior to hem in all respects .They prasticed caste discrimaniations more severly thatn in any state of Inida .among the no-brahmnins too the same order of castes among Hindus as in other states prevails .In fact it is a well-known fact that of all th epeople of Inida the Malayalis are more conscious of hygiene than anybody else .In fact even the so-called lowest caste Mlayali woud look much cleaner and rfefined than the highest caste member of the other states.
Thre have been some castes which were treated as untouchables as ther eare even today in the otehr states in Inida .but Kerala being a state of which has achieved cent percent literacy has gien up the practice of untouchabiliy even long ago.Untouchability prevails in most of the villages in the Noth of India and in many villages in the south also But it is NOT being practiced in kerala now .the reason is simple .all th epeople of Kerala are literate and no state in Inida is anywhre near keral in this respect and secondly , all th epeople of keral are neat and clean and hygeinic that no one finds it dificult to touch any one or interact with any one .Even those who were once upon a time untouchables in keral look much better than the highest caste people of Inida in other states. Majority of the population irrespective of their financial status ,normally lives a simple life unlike in other parts of inida where even the begger wants to show off as a rich person.
One special and highly appreciable fact about th emalayalis is that You do not find a single Malayali begging in the streets of any state in Inida where as you can see people of all linguistic groups and communities of Inida among beggers in every state of Inida .
Another characteer that singles them out from the rest of the people of Inida is that it is th eonly state in Inida where the auto rickshaw drivers do not demand or accept even if offered any thing over and above the meter charges .they are the people with a high level of self -respect in the ecountry .There are no beggers and cheats amoing the auto-rickshaw drivers in the state of Kerala.
You cannot see such a hygeine -conscious population anywhere in Inida and in many parts of the advanced western countries countries also The minus point is that they treat the people other states as inferior because of unhygeinic practices .So your informatioin is wrong and contrary.to fact.
your conception about Varuna seems to be distorted .The people of the four Varunas exist in all states .though Varuna itself is misunderstood in all the states and by all the people including the hindus of Inida
The varunas are just division of people into four groups based on the divison of labour needed for the ancient society.in the Dhwapara Yuga .the requirements of the soiciety . the demands of the society in those days for labour were not as complicated and manifold as it is today.People needed only four groups of labour,
they are (10 teachers , prohits for conducting religious rtituals , vedic practitioners , religiopus and temple priests .They needed knowledge of vedas and learning .they had to use their brains for their profession.So they were born of the head of god .These people are not a caste. any one who has a strong and intelligent brain aand had the capacity to learn and practice the vedas and stood by the learning was a brahmnin.that was why they were required to wear a sacred threat in token of havi9ng taken a vow (Sankalpa to behave like brahmin ) just like your wearing a gown while being a conferred a degree and taking a oath saying "I do Promise " when you are admminstered an oath that yu would condiuct yourself worthy of a graduate .
so any one who stands by the way of dharma and shows comappsion to all beings is a brahmin according to Saint Thiru valluvar who said "Anthanar enpore aravore , ev vuyirkum sentanmai poontu olzhu kalaan".
so it ios not a caste . It is a group that has takne oa vow to behav elike a ?Brahmin.so also among the non-brahmins the Smiths ( Aasaaries ) , the Vaniyaas ( the chettiars ) also wear the sacred thread in token of the vow tobehave accordin gthothe dharma of the trade they undertake to perform to the society.

the King , the generals , the soldiers , the police personnel , the judges , the amnistrators etc needed guts and should have a strong heart and courage .they are supposed to hav born of the chest of God as chest is considered to be the seat of courage .All these people do not practice one and the same tade and donot belong to one caste .
the vysyaas , are the people whoi produce food grains , transports tna distributes them to the people .They provide for the stomuchof the society. they satisfy the hunger of th epeople .,so they were supposed to have been made of the stomuch of god . Lastly the shuddras .they are the people who assist in th ehard labour needed for all the above-dais four groups of people .they provide the palm leaves and the wrting tool of the teachers , the weapons needed for the warriors .all th eequipments needed for the production and sistribution of th efood grains etc .thus they support the entier society by providing the herdest and toughest part of the labour .\the whole society rests on them .so htey are supposed to have been made of the legs of the god .so the four parts of god assigned tpo the four varunas relate to the character of the trade they are to undertake and not the gradation of their in society.so the position of the people in these groups are not to be of importance in the same order in which he organs are placed in the body of 'god .No body par tof the '/god is lower or higher in imporantance .so the br ahmins who are supposed to be made of h ehead is not above the chst of god in importance and the shakthriyasmoe important than the stomuch and the vysyaas more important than the legs .In fact Lord Brahmma is supposed to have been emanated from the umblicus of God vishnu .It does not mean that Brahmma is inferior to the those who hav eemenated from the head and chest of god as these two body parts are above the umblicus .so it is absurd to interpret that the people of the various varunas are of importance or superior in theorder of location of the body parts concerned of ?God .another impotant point for consideration is that all the kings and the great rishis and saints pray to God to offer them a pace near the feet of god and not the head or chest opr stomuch or lap of god . this very feet the God has assigned to the shuddras who ar supposed to have emanated from the feet of god .so the location of the body part does not indicate the gradationof th estatus of the people of these four groups .these groups do not indicate castes ,Castes were of later classification done on the natur of the trade one practices and they are nort reallyh castes .What was the treade name cam et oe referred to as caste name , just as yu call a taqcher a teacher and a doctor a doctoir and a policemena as a police .they are not caste names .but trade names .they ahve beenmade caste names by vested interests later .