Kurichiya or Kurichiyar also known as Hill Brahmins or Malai Brahmins are a matrilineal tribe of Kerala distributed mainly in Wayanad and Kannur districts of Kerala, India. Kurichiyans are one of the Scheduled Tribes of Kerala practicing agriculture.
Source of name
The name Kurichiyan was given by the Kottayam Raja to this class of people as they were adepts in archery and shooting. The word Kurichiyan is derived from two words kuri (target) and chiyan (people).
Caste relations
The Kurichiya consider themselves higher than all other social groups around them, to include even the Brahmin. They observe the "highest levels of ritual purity", considering even the touch of a Nambuthiri Brahmin to be polluting.