BAIRA

Baira community is inhabited near Kasargode district.  They are grouped under the Scheduled Caste.  Their languages are Thulu and Kannada. They have elevan social divisions. Their traditional occupation is basket making.  Some of them are working as plantation labourers. They follow Hinduism. They celebrate Dipavali, Onam and Vishu festivals.

Elders take marriage initiatives and arranged marriages are common. Thali and toe ring are the marriage symbols.  Pre-delivery rituals are observed on the seventh month of pregnancy. Post delivery pollution lasts for 41 days.  Puberty rites are also observed. Naming ceremony is conducted on the 16th day. Baira cremate the dead and the death pollution lasts for 12 days.  

The Bakuda live in Kasargode, Wayanad and Kannur districts of Kerala. They speak Malayalam, Thulu and Kannada. They belong to Tulu Nadu and migrated to Kerala. They are agricultural workers.  Some of them serve as Velichappad (oracle).  and worship Naga deity and Chamundi.

Marriages are arranged by negotiation and mutual consent. Marriage takes place at the bride’s house.  Black-beaded chain and finger rings are the symbols of married women. Pre-delivery rituals and post delivery rituals are observed.   Naming ceremony of the newborn bay is held on the 14th day of birth. Bakuda bury the dead body and death pollution lasts for 16 days.  

BALIJA

The Balija have two groups – Gajalu Balija and Gavarai Balija.  Gajalu means bangles.  Legend says that the first Gajalu was the creation of Lord Shiva for making bangles for Parvathy. The name Balija derived from two Sanskrit words – bali which means sacrifice and ja means born.  The community is seen at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Thrissur. They speak Malayalam and Tamil.  They follow patrilocal and nuclear family pattern. The mode of inheritance is Makkathayam.  (Vishnavaites).   

Marital relations are arranged through negotiations.  Thali and toe-ring are marriage symbols.  Marriage rituals are taken place at the bride’s residence, which lasts for a single day. Puberty rites for girls are observed.  Pre-delivery and Post-delivery rituals are also observed.  Naming of child, tying of waistband thread and putting up the cradle for the first time takes place on the 17th day. Balija dead are cremated or buried. Death pollution lasts for 15 days and removal of pollution takes place on the 16th day on which the thali of the widow is removed. 

BANDARI

Bandari is a community settled in Kasargode District of Kerala. According to legend, the ancestor of the community was created for haircut of Lord Shiva, whose hair was transformed into a long matted lock on account of long penance, on the eve of his marriage to Parvathy.  Bandari community is divided into nine gotras and they consider themselves as Sudras. They follow Hinduism and their clan deity is Lord Krishna. The Government of Kerala classified them under ‘Other Backward Classes’. Their traditional occupation is hair cutting.

Earlier they followed marumakkathayam but now male inheritance is the practice. Mode of marriage is by negotiations initiated by bridegroom’s family. Marriage takes place at the bride’s residence. Thali, kumkum and toe ring are the symbols of marriage. Pre-delivery rituals performed by them.  Post delivery pollution lasts for 16 days. Naming ceremony of newborn child takes place on 11th day. They cremate dead body.  Death pollution lasts for 11 days.  

BHANT

Bhant in Tulu means a brave man or a soldier. The Bhant also known as Ballal, which is a community title. Bhandari, Shetty, Rai, Hegde, Naik are some of the surnames that they use. They are seen Kasargode district of Kerala.  They follow nuclear family system. . Their traditional occupation is military service and agriculture as that of Nairs. They are also found in various other occupations.
 
They observe seemantham in the seventh month of pregnancy. Namakarana is held on 16th day of birth. The newborn baby is laid into a cradle only on the 16th day. Marriage ceremonies are held at the bride’s residence. The bridegroom ties thali around the neck of bride and thali is the mark of marriage. They cremate their dead. Death pollution lasts for 11 days.

 BHARATHAR

The Bharathar or Paravar are the migrated community from Tamil Nadu to Kerala.  There are three groups of Paravar.  Tamil Paravar whose traditional occupation is fishing; Malayalam Paravar, who are lime brurners; and Canarese Paravar who are makers of umbrella are the three groups.  They inhabit in the costal areas of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, and Kannur districts. They are also seen in the Kottayam district.  Their languages are Tamil and Malayalam. They are categorised under ‘Other Backward Class’ by the Government of Kerala. They are Roman Catholics. Christmas, Easter, New Year are the important festivals that they observe.  Their main occupation is fishing or fish selling.  

They observe puberty rites in two stages.  The first is called chamathiyam and the second is known as chadangadianthiram. Elders arrange marriages. Marriage rituals also have two stages. The first is known as varthappad, observed on the day of engagement and the second is kumbasara kalyanam. Wedding ceremony takes place in the church.  Golden Thali with the crest of a dove, bhindi and finger rings are the marriage symbols of women. Pre-delivery rituals take place on the seventh month of pregnancy.  Post delivery pollution lasts for 41 days. The naming and baptism of the child takes place on the eighth day.  On death, they bury the dead body in the graveyard of the church. Commemorative ceremony is performed on fifth, seventh and sixteenth day.

BHILLAVA

The word Bhill means bow and hence the Bhillava is one who carries bow. It is believed that they were the military people of ancient rulers. They are residing in Kasargode district of Keral. The Government of Keral classifies them under the Other Eligible Community.  Their mother tongue is Thulu, but they speak Malayalam also. Once they followed marumakkathayam system of inheritance. Traditionally they were military men. They also accepted toddy tapping as one of the occupations. Nowadays, they are employed as manual casual labourers. .

They observe pre-delivery and post delivery rituals. Post delivery pollution lasts for 16 days. They also observe therendukalyanam. Marriage is held at the bride’s residence. Thali is the mark of marriage. They either cremate or bury the dead bodies. In either case ashes / bones are collected and immersed in river or sea.

BOYAN

The Boyan is a migrated community from Tamil Nadu.  They are also known as Naickan in Thrissur regions. They are mainly settled in Palakkad District. Their language is Tamil.   and their main deities are Vishnu and Shiva. They belong to Scheduled Caste. They are expert in construction items of work.

Elders arrange marriage.  Now a day they used to tie thali around the neck of bride as a symbol of marriage. They observe puberty rites, pre-delivery ritual.  Post pregnancy pollution is observed only five to seven days.  Naming ceremony is conducted on the fifth day of birth. First feeding is conducted in the seventh month. They bury dead.  Death pollution is observed only for three days.