The Pulayas, also known as Pulayar are one of the main social groups found in the Kerala society, who were traditionally engaged in various agriculture-related occupations. Ayyankali (1863–1914), one among the great social reformers of India, who was praised by Mahatma Gandhi when he visited Venganoor, was born to a Malayali Pulaya family.[edit] Muslim Malayali Muslims are members of a Malayalam-speaking Islamic community spread across Kerala, Lakshadweep, Kodagu and across Malayali Diaspora around the world. In North Kerala they are known as Mappilas or Moplahs. The word mappila is derived from the old (pure) Malayalam words Amma and pilla meaning Child Mother. The Mappilas are believed to be the earliest known Indian Muslim community, having existed since the 8th century CE, when Arab merchants who had long been trading with the Chera kingdom settled in Kerala. The Muslims in Kerala cannot be easily distinguished in the community as they still retain their Malayali features.[citation needed] They follow the preachings of monotheism by Muhammad in Arabia. They propagated their faith along the Malabar Coast. Most Mappila Muslims follow the Shafi'i school of Muslim Jurisprudence (in contrast to the Hanafi school followed by most South Asian Muslims). A good amount of mappila's find their income from gulf region. In north malabar, from malappuram to kasargod, at least one of 3 Muslim house have foreign income.
[edit] Christian
Christians form the third largest group in Kerala. Over the centuries, they have blended well with the changing socio-cultural environment of the region, becoming uniquely Indian and Christian.
According to legend Christianity in India dates to Thomas the Apostle’s conversion of local Namboodiri population in Kerala during the 1st century CE.[14] The 3rd and 4th centuries saw an influx of Christians from the Middle East. Knanaya communities arrived during this time. Distance kept the community of St Thomas Christians separate from other Christian communities until about the 8th century, when they started receiving bishops and support from the Chaldean Church. The arrival of Europeans in the 15th century and discontent with Portuguese interference in religious matters fomented schism into Catholic and Orthodox communities. Further schism, rearrangements, and missionary activity led to the formation of the other Indian Churches. Latin Rite Christians were converted by the Portuguese in the 16th and 19th centuries mainly from communities where fishing was the traditional occupation. Anglo-Indian Christian communities formed around this time as Europeans and local Malayalis intermarried. Protestantism arrived a few centuries later with missionary activity during British rule. The community today can broadly divided into Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecost and Protestant groups. It is important to note that despite being a heterogeneous group, Malayali Christians find unity in a common history and faith.
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