The Ezhavas are a community with origins in the region presently known as Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. They are also known as Ilhava, Irava, Izhava and Erava in the south of the region; as Chovas, Chokons and Chogons in Central Travancore

Central Travancore

The Central Travancore, Kerala, consists of the South-Central districts of Kottayam, Alapuzha, Pathanamthitta, and parts of Idukki, and parts of Kollam...

; and as Tiyyas, Thiyas and Theeyas in Malabar. The Malabar Tiyya group have claimed a higher ranking in the Hindu caste system than do the others, although from the perspective of the colonial and subsequent administrations they were treated as being of similar rank.