Ambalavasi is a generic name for a group of castes among Hindus in Kerala who render temple services. Those that practise matrilineality share many cultural similarities with the Nair caste and are probably related to them, but some Ambalavasi groups instead practice patrilineality. Their ritual rank in Hinduism lies somewhere between the Brahmin castes and the Nairs.
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Castes and professions
The castes which comprised the Ambalavasi community each contained only a few members. They lived in villages either where the land was owned solely by one Nambudiri Brahmin family or where the land was owned by a temple, the running of which was in the control of a group of Nambudiri families. The latter villages were called sanketams.
The temples in which they worked comprised four basic types:
A brief description of each of these castes, some of which in some areas at one time or another had access to sexual relations with Nair women, are given below:
Chakyar
The Chakyar are the highest-ranked of the Ambalavasis in ritual terms, along with the Pushpagans. They recited stories from the Puranas.
Pushpagans
Pushpagans ranked with the Chakyar and were the gatherers of flowers for the temples. As with the Chakyar and indeed the Nambudiri Brahmins themselves, they were a patrilineal caste.