Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Elayad
Elayad. — For the following note on the Elayads or Ilayatus I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar, Ilayatu literally means younger, and the name is employed to denote a caste, which is supposed to be the last among the numerous sub-divisions of Malabar Brāhmans. The caste-men make use of two titles, Ilayatu and Nambiyatiri, the latter of which has the same origin as Nambūtiri, meaning a person worthy of worship. Women are generally known as Ilayammas, and, in some parts of North Travancore, also Kunjammas. By the caste-men themselves the women are called Akattulavar, or those inside, in the same way as Nambūtiri women. Children are called Kunjunnis. The Ilayatus exact from the Nāyars the name of Ilayachchan, or little father.
According to the Jatinirnaya, a work ascribed to Parasurāma, the Ilayatus were once Brāhmans of undiminished purity, but became degraded owing to the priestly service which was performed for a Nāyar servant attached to one of their households. Two members of the house of Azhvāncheri Tamprākkal were brothers. The younger resolved to go to a foreign country, and could get no other Nāyar servant than one who was obliged to perform his mother's anniversary ceremony on the way. He promised to act as the priest on this occasion, and is even believed to have eaten the food prepared by the Nāyar. When the matter became known to his elder brother, he assembled all the Vaidik Brāhmans, and the younger brother was excommunicated. This tradition, like the majority of Malabar traditions, has to be accepted with reserve. The Ilayatus assert that, until interdicted by Rāma lyen Dalawa in revenge for a supposed dishonour to him, they had the privilege of commensality with Nambūtiri Brāhmans; but Rāma lyen's authority, large as it was, did not extend to Cochin and British Malabar, where too the Ilayatus appear to labour under the same difficulty. Those who encouraged the higher classes of Nāyars with ritualistic functions became Onnam Parisha or the first party of Ilayatus, the remainder being grouped in another class known as Randām or second party. The latter are lower in the social scale than the former. The two sections do not intermarry, and interdining is restricted to the male sex.
The Ilayatus generally have a dejected appearance, and their poverty is proverbial. Most of them earn only a scanty living by their traditional occupation, and yet it is notorious that other walks of life have absolutely no attraction for them. Not only is English education not welcomed, but even the study of Sanskrit finds only a few steadfast votaries. The Ilayatus are, however, a naturally clever, and intelligent community, and, under favourable conditions, are found to take a more prominent place in society.
The house of an Ilayatu is, like that of a Nambūtiri, called illam. It is generally large, being the gift of some pious Nāyar. Every Ilayatu house possesses a serpent grove, where periodical offerings are made. The dress and ornaments of the Ilayatus are exactly like those of the Nambūtiris. The wedding ornament is called kettu-tāli. Children wear a ring tied to a thread round the neck from the moment of the first feeding ceremony. The Ilayatus are strict vegetarians, and, though in some of their temples they have to make offerings of liquor to the deity, they are strictly forbidden by caste rules from partaking thereof.
The chief occupation of the Ilayatus is the priesthood of the Nāyars. The first division perform this service only for the Ilakkar or highest class of Nāyars, while the second division do not decline to be the priests of any section of that community. In performing such services, the Ilayatus recite various liturgic texts, but hardly any Vēdic hymns. The Ilayatus have also been the recognised priests in several North Travancore temples, the chief of which are the Kainikkara Bhagavata shrine, the Payappara Sāsta shrine, and the Parēkkāvu Siva temple at Kūttāttukulam. Ilayatus are the priests in most of the snake groves of Malabar, that at Mannārsalay commanding the greatest popularity and respect.
Ilayatus are, in all matters of caste such as Smartavicharam, or enquiry into charges of adultery, etc., governed by the Nambūtiris, who are assisted by Vaidiks belonging to the caste itself. It is the latter who are the regular priests of the Ilayatus, and, though ignorant of the - Vēdas, they seem to possess considerable knowledge of the priestly functions as carried out in Malabar. Nambūtiris are sometimes invited to perform Isvarasēva, Sarpabali, and other religious rites. Purification rites are performed by the caste priests only, and no Nambūtiri is called on to assist. Brāhmans do not cook food in the houses of Ilayatus.
The Ilayatus are divided mostly into two septs or gōtras, called Visvāmitra and Bhāradvāja. The marriage of girls is performed before or after puberty, between the twelfth and eighteenth years. No bride-price is paid, but a sum of not less than Rs. 140 has to be paid to the bridegroom. This is owing to the fact that, in an Ilayutu family, as among the Nambūtiris, only the eldest son can lead a married life. All male members of a family, except the eldest, take to themselves some Nāyar or Ambalavāsi woman. Widows do not remove their tuft of hair on the death of their husband, but throw their marriage ornament on to the funeral pyre, probably as a symbol of the performance of sati. The Ilayatus resemble the Nambūtiris in all questions of inheritance. The Ilayatus do not omit any of the sixteen religious ceremonies of the Brāhmans. The rules of name given are that the eldest son should be named after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather, and the third after the father. A parallel rule obtains in giving names to daughters.
The Ilayatus belong in the main to the white and black branches of the Yajurvēda, and observe the sūtras of Bodhayana and Asvalayana. They recite only twenty-four Gayatri hymns, thrice a day. Women are believed to be polluted for ninety days after childbirth.
It is noted in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that the Elayads are "their own priests, and for this reason, and from the fact that Nāyars perform srādhas (memorial service) in the houses of Elayads, the Nambūdris do not cook or take meals in their houses, nor do they, Kshatriyas or Nampidis, take water from Elayads. In former times, the Elayads used to take their meals in Nāyar houses during the performance of the srādha ceremony of the Nāyars, as Brāhmans generally do on such ceremonial occasions amongst themselves, but they now decline to do it, except in a few wealthy and influential families. Mūthads and Elayads wear the sacred thread. Though in many respects the Elayads are more Brāhmanical than the Mūthads, the majority of the Ambalavāsi castes do not take the food cooked or touched by the Elayads. There are some temples, in which they officiate as chief priests. The Mūthad and Elayad females are gōsha. They both practice polygamy, and perform Sarvaswadānam marriages like the Nambūdris."