The People of Kerala
A Keralite is
better known as a Malayali, nomenclature from his language, Malayalam. This word
is derived from two words "mala" and "alam", which mean hill and house in the
language spoken by people living on the hills.
Malayalam, is one of the six Dravidian languages, which originated from "Dravidabhasha"
and polished by Sanskrit and other foreign influences. Malayalis have a close
affinity with their Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Tulu neighbours, who are the
members of the group referred to as Dravidian race along with the Konkans.
Linguistic analyse indicate that at one time, Tamilians and Malayalis were a
single community and they maintained closer ties than the present. At an
undetermined period near the beginning of Christian era, the Malayalis broke
away from Tamilians, a process undoubtedly hastened by their geographical
situation. In the course of centuries, Malayalis developed their own culture,
in the process extensively absorbing Aryan elements from the north as well as
Arab and European elements from the west. The hospitality, adaptability and
acceptance shown by the rulers of Kerala to various traders, tourists and
evangelic groups resulted in the formation of a unique culture.
Kerala represents a unique religious picture. Nowhere else do adherents of the
three major world religions live side by side in such large numbers namely
Hindus, Christians and Muslims. The population of Kerala is roughly 50% Hindu,
25% Muslim and 25% Christian. Hindus are mainly concentrated in southern Kerala
around Thiruvananthapuram, though Muslims are also a prominent and vocal
component of the population of this area. The main Muslim area is in the
northern part of the state, particularly around Kozhikode (Calicut) while most
Christians live around Kottayam, Alapuzha and Kochi.
