Classification: Malayalam - endangered
Mala Arayan or Malaiyarayan, is a member of a tribal community in parts of Kottayam, Idukki and Pattanamtitta districts of Kerala state, southern India.
They are listed as part of Scheduled Tribes by the Government of India. Among the Scheduled Tribes, Malai Arayans out class all the other tribes in socio-economical and educational aspects. When an evaluation in the educational and employment prospect is taken, it will be found that almost all the Government Servants and other employees are coming from this faction of Scheduled Tribes.
The Malayaraya community inhabiting the upper reaches of Western ghats at present, have many Vanjippattu songs included in their literature which are used in their artforms such as Kolakali and Ivarkali.The presence of such songs which are exclusively used in the Aranmula tradition could be because Malayarayars were once the non-Brahmanical, vama/Kaulachara "karmis" of Aranmula Appan or mahavishnu as attested by "Thirunizhalmala," one of the oldest poems in Malayalam language and its creator Ayiroor Govindan.
Information from: "The World Atlas of Language Structures". Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer. Oxford University Press