Malayāli

The Malayalis, a group of people of mixed ethnic heritage who speak Malayalam, a Dravidian language, constitute the majority of the population of Kerala. They represent a historically diverse population shaped by centuries of migration and cultural interaction largely within the Indian subcontinent. Over the millennia,…

Malayali Hindus in Kerala and in adjacent areas of Tamil Nadu, India. Vishu (Sanskrit: “equal”) celebrates the vernal equinox, when day and night are roughly equal length. Although the astronomical equinox falls in late March, the Vishu festival falls on the first day of the…