The origin of the Muttatus, and their place in Malabar society, are questions on which a good deal of discussion has been of late expended. In the Jatinirnaya, an old Sanskrit work on the castes of Kerala attributed to Sankaracharya, it is said that the four kinds of Ambalavasis, Tantri, Bharatabhattaraka, Agrima, and Slaghyavakku, are Brahmans degraded in the Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali ages, respectively, and that those who were so degraded in the Dvapara Yuga--the Agrimas or Muttatus--and whose occupation is to cleanse the stone steps of shrines--are found in large numbers in Kerala. According to Kerala Mahatmya, another Sanskrit work on Malabar history and customs, these Muttatus are also known as Sivadvijas, or Brahmans dedicated to the worship of Siva, occupying a lower position in Malabar society than that of the Brahmans. One of them, disguised as a Nambutiri, married a Nambutiri's daughter, but his real status became known before the marriage was consummated, and the pair were degraded, and allotted a separate place in society. This tradition is not necessary to account for the present position of the Muttatus in Kerala, as, all over India, worship of fixed images was viewed with disfavour even in the days of Manu. Worship in Saivite temples was not sought by Brahmans, and was even considered as despiritualising on account of the divine displeasure which may be expected as the result of misfeasance. It was for a similar reason that the Nambiyans of even Vaishnavite temples on the east coast became degraded in society. The Illayatus and Muttatus have been long known in Malabar as Nyunas or castes slightly lower than the Brahmans, and Avantaras or castes intermediate between Brahmans and Ambalavasis. As, in subsequent days, the Brahmans themselves undertook with impunity the priestly profession in Hindu temples, Saivite as well as Vaishnavite, the Muttatus had to be content with a more lowly occupation, viz., that of guarding the temples and images. According to Suchindra Mahatmyam, eleven Brahmans were ordered by Parasu Rama to partake of the remnants of the food offered to Siva, and to bear the Saivite image in procession round the shrine on occasions of festivals; and, according to the Vaikam Sthalapuranam, three families of Sivadvijas were brought over by the same sage from eastern districts for service at that temple. Whatever may be said in regard to the antiquity or authenticity of many of these Sthalapuranams, corroborative evidence of the Brahmanical origin of the Muttatus may be amply found in their manners and customs. A fresh colony of Sivadvijas is believed to have been invited to settle at Tiruvanchikkulam in Cranganore from Chidambaram by one of the Perumals of Kerala, in connection with the establishment of Saivite temples there. They have preserved their original occupation faithfully enough down to the present day.