Pushpaka is a caste of Hindu Brahmins of Kerala. In Malayalam language, this caste is also referred to as Pushpakar, Pushpaka Unni or Pushpakan Unni. They are a part of the Ambalavasi community in Kerala. They carry out the various activities of the temple like teaching of sacred texts, garland making, lamp works etc., and sometimes they perform actual priestly activities also. The male members of this caste generally use the surname Unni with their name. They also use the surnames Nambi and Sarma.
Koothambalam or Kuttampalam meaning temple theatre is a closed hall for staging Koothu, Nangiar koothu and Koodiyattam, the ancient ritualistic art forms of Kerala, India. Koothambalams are said to be constructed according to the guide lines given in the chapter 2 of Nātyasāstra of Bharata Muni. The stage within the hall is considered to be as sacred as the temple sanctum. It is constructed within the cloister of the Temple; more precisely within the pancaprakaras of the temple. The prescribe location is between the prakaras of bahyahara and maryada. In Kerala tradition it is considered as one among the pancaprasadas of a temple complex. Its dimension vary from temple to temple.A square platform with a separate pyramidal roof supported by pillars in the center called natyamandapam is constructed as s separate structure within the large hall of Koothampalam. The floor of the hall is divided into two equal halves and one part is for performance and other half for seating audience. During the performance, the stage is decorated with fruit-bearing plantains, bunches of coconuts and fronds of the coconut palm. A para filled with rice is placed on the stage. A nilavilakku with three thiri is used for lighting. The mizhavu, a percussion instrument for accompanying Koothu, is placed within a railed enclosure, with a high seat for the drummer( belonging to nampiar community).
Tharavad is a Malayalam word for ancestral home, usually used by Namboothiri, Nair & Ambalavasi castes as the common house for the joint family system practised by people of Kerala, India. Tharavadi was also related to the matrilineal system of Marumakkathayam in Kerala. Hermann Gundert in his Malayalam—English dictionary published in 1872, lists tharavad as "ancestral residence of land-owners" and also as "a house, chiefly of noblemen". Contemporary usage of the word is more generic to all social classes.
Kurup is a title of the kalari trainers or of the caste which do the occupation of Mason..
Chakyar is an intermediate priestly caste coming under the Ambalavasi community of Hindus in the Kerala state of India. The women in this caste are called Illotammas.
The caste system in Kerala differed from that found in the rest of India. While the Indian caste system generally modelled the four-fold division of society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, in Kerala the Nambudiri Brahmins formed the priestly class and only rarely recognised anyone else as being other than Shudra or untouchables outside the caste system entirely. Thus, the Kerala caste system was ritualised but it was not the varna model found elsewhere. Even inside Kerala, North Kerala castes are different from South Kerala. Until the recent past, they did not follow marriage alliances, citing the differences.
Nambeesan is a Brahmin caste of Kerala.
Adikal is a sub-caste of Ambalavasi Nairs in Kodungallur, Kerala. Women in this caste are known as Adisyaar or as Adiyamma. In Travancore they are known as Adishens or Aadichan Nairs.
Brahmanippattu is a type of domestic devotional offering performed usually in connection with marriages. Women of the Nambeesan caste called Brahmanis or Pushpinis alone are entitled to do it.
Maaraar or Marar is the name given to the temple musicians of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar in the state of Kerala, India whose primary duty was to provide the traditional temple Sopanam music.They are living in the vicinity of temples; and are related with the temple and temple customs.
{{Infobox ethnic group |image = |caption = |group = Nambiar |pop = |popplace = Mostly in North Malabar |languages = [[Malayalam] [Sanskrit] |religions = Hinduism |related = }}
Kettu Kalyanam, also known as Thali Kettu was the name of an elaborate marriage ceremony of the Samanthan, Nair, Maaran, and Ambalavasi communities of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The customs varied from region to region and caste to caste. Sambandham may take place only if the bride had already had this elaborate ritual marriage known as Kettu Kalyanam. This practice was not performed in North Malabar.
The name Illotamma or Ellotamma refers to the women of Chakyar caste of Kerala, India.
Nambiar is a Hindu caste in Kerala. They belongs to the Ampalavasi community. Based on their profession, there are two subcastes - Mizhavu Nambiar and Thiyyadi Nambiar. Mizhavu Nambiars are associated with temple art forms like Koothu, Koodiyattam and Ottanthullal, where as Thiyyadi Nambiars are associated with the art form Ayyappan Theeyattu. Nambiars followed the marumakkathayam (matrilineal) system of inheritance.
Pushpaka Brahmin is a generic term that refer to a group of various Hindu Brahmin castes of Kerala in the Ambalavasi community. Pushpaka Brahmin include primarily two castes - Pushpakas and Nambeesanas, who were assigned the job of tending flowers and making garlands in the Hindu temples and were given rights to teach sacred texts and Sanskrit language in the Pathasalas associated with Hindu temples. Later some other communities like Theeyatt Unnis, Kurukkals, and Puppallis. having similar culture and temple-related jobs were also considered to be Pushpaka Brahmins.
Nair, also spelt Nayar, is the name of a Hindu forward caste from the South Indian state of Kerala.
Nambidi is a caste of Kerala, India. The form a part of the Ampalavasi community. They are considered to be half-Brahmin and half-Kshatriya, and to have originated when a section of the Nambudiris was degraded or a section of the Nairs was upgraded in the caste system.
Theeyattunni or Theeyadi Unni is a caste of Hindu Brahmins of Kerala, India. They are a part of the Pushpaka Brahmins and Ambalavasi community in Kerala. Theeyattunnis are traditionally the performers of an ancient art form called Theeyatt. Theeyattunnis have the right for Tantric Poojas and other privileges enjoyed by the Nambudiri caste.
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