Vaniyan Nair Vaishya

In Northern Kerala, this community is being called Vaniyan Nair. Adding Nair to name is not denotifying the nair caste, but as a "title" honoured by the then ruling Nair kings to Vaniya community members who supply oil to their state as a token of appreciation. This is often misused or people get confused for as a caste. This let the way for some malayalam speaking vaniya members having nair surname titles getting absorbed into the larger Nair community, thus losing the identity their old generation created. Northern Kerala is a testimony to this scenerio. Vaniyan Nairs are included in OBC (Other Backward Class) list by the Kerala govt, thus justifying the said cause. The Vaniya of North Malabar have their own place of worship called Muchillotu Kavu. The presiding deity is Muchilottu Bhaga

vathi. They have an annual festival running for 3-4 days called as Kaliyattam.Thousand of people are fed food for all the 3-4 days. In some Muchillottu this festival takes place once in a decade or more and is called as Perumkaliyattam .This attracts lakhs of people.

The great hotelier and industrialist Captain Padmabhushan C.P.Krishan Nair of the Leela Group of hotels belongs to the Vaniyan Nair community of Kannur. Another well-known personality is M.V. Shankran, the doyen of Indian circus , who runs the famous Gemini Circus, Jumbo Circus, Great Royal Circus etc.

The Vaniyan Nair community also runs the Thunchath acharya educational and charitable Trust in Kannur. The well-known Thunchath Acharya Vidyalayam , a Senior Secondary CBSE affiliated school at Eda Chovva, Kannur, functions under this trust.

They engaged in production and selling of oil. Vaniyar of north Malabar are believed to be the immigrants from sourashtra(In which they are part of Baniya Caste; came to kolathunadu(Which is present North Malabar) for trade purposes and settled here. They widely belonged to Vaishya Varna among four varnas but since Vaishya varna didn't existed in Malabar they were granted to use 'Nair' title by kolathiri rajas of kolathu nadu,They also use chettiar as their surname. Vaniyars are endogamous in nature and usually they don't inter-marry with other Nairs sub-castes of Kerala.

The chief goddess of vaniya community is Muchilot Bhagavathi and there are 118 muchilot temples in Malabar spread across Kasaragod, Kannur, and Kozhikode districts

Muchilot bhagavathi got that name from Muchilottu PadaNair who was a vaniya nair and chieftain of local king's Army.

Vaniyars have 9 illams or clans namely Muchilot,thachilam,Pallikkara,Chorulla,Chanthamkulangara,Kunjoth,Nambram,Naroor,&Valli

Modh ghanchi community of Gujarat are north Indian counterpart of vaniya caste of Malabar.

Vaniyars of Malabar have sole organisation for the upliftment of vaniya community in their socio, economic, educational, cultural, employment fields and to strengthen,protect the unity and cultural heritage of the community, It is named vaniya samudaya samithi. The comnunity also runs a school 'Thunchathacharya Vidyalaya' in chovva,Kannur

Notable members

Famous businessman C. P. Krishnan Nair 

Former calicut district collector-Prasanth Nair IAS 

Founder of gemini circus-M.V Shankaran 

T.Raghavan Nair IPS