People
The most densely populated state in India, the composition of its villages and cities also defies the concept of modern megalopolises. For a visitor Kerala would look like a continuous village merging into major urban and industrial centres like Cananore, Calicut, Alwaye, Cochin, Allepey and Quilon.The language of the state is Malayalam and the people are mostly of Dravidian ancestory with a smattering of the Indo-European mixture as a result of the so-called Aryan influx. The Aryan trace is quite prominent among the orthodox Nambudiri Brahmins. Traces of the Negrito features of Southeast Asia are evident among the tribal folks that inhabit the mountainous areas.
Though the majority of people are Hindus there is a remarkable coexistence of diverse faiths and even among followers of the many streams of the same faith. There is thus no conflict between devotees of the serpent worshipping Dravidian naga sect and the goddess worshippers or between the followers of Shiva and Vishnu. There is also a small population of adherents to the Jain faith in the far north. There is a small Jewish community in Cochin, which also has an ancient synagogue.
A third of the population belong to Christianity, comprising broadly of the Orthodox Syrian, Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations and each has as many sects within. While Muslims are spread throughout the state, the Mapillas of Malabar constitute the largest Islamic community in Kerala.
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