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 Brahmans. The caste-men make use of two titles, Ilayatu and Nambiyatiri, the latter of which has the same origin as Nambutiri, 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 Nambutiri women. Children are called Kunjunnis. The Ilayatus exact from the Nayars the name of Ilayachchan, or little father. According to the Jatinirnaya, a work ascribed to Parasurama, the Ilayatus were once Brahmans of undiminished purity, but became degraded owing to the priestly service which was performed for a Nayar servant attached to one of their households. Two members of the house of Azhvancheri Tamprakkal were brothers. The younger resolved to go to a foreign country, and could get no other Nayar 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 Nayar. When the matter became known to his elder brother, he assembled all the Vaidik Brahmans, 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 Rama Iyen Dalawa in revenge for a supposed dishonour to him, they had the privilege of commensality with Nambutiri Brahmans; but Rama Iyen'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 Nayars with ritualistic functions became Onnam Parisha or the first party of Ilayatus, the remainder being grouped in another class known as Randam 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.