Itasseri Nairs or Itacheri Nairs were one of the subcastes belonging to the Nair

Nair

Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...

 community in 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 used to be gentry, feudal lords, administrators or owners of temples and even vendors of milk, butter and curd.

According to the 1891 Census, Itasseri Nairs composed around 2.1% of the total Nair population. The Idasseri Nair subcaste is found only in Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

, where they constitute less than 5% of the total Nair population. History has never ever recorded Itasseri Nairs being inferior to Malayali Brahmins

Malayali Brahmins

The term "Malayali Brahmins" or "Malayala Brahmananmar" applies to two main groups of Brahmins from the Indian state of Kerala. They were the Swadeshi or native Brahmins of Kerala while all other Brahmins were considered Paradesi or foreign Brahmins....

 by any means, in fact they exercised dominance over some Brahmin communities like the Arya Pattar and Iyer

Iyer

Iyer is the title given to the caste of Hindu Brahmin communities of Tamil origin. Most Iyers are followers of the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara...

. Along with the Illathu Nair

Illathu Nair

Illathu Nair is one of the subcastes of the Nair community among Keralites. They are mostly found in the Travancore and Cochin areas. Illathu Nairs were considered highest in the Nair hierarchy in Travancore. Purification rites by the Maarans and priestly service from the Elayatus distinguished the...

s , they form the largest section of Kshatriya Nairs in Travancore.

According to the caste hierarchy, the Itasseri Nairs are considered inferior to the Samanthan Nairs , but superior to some other Nair castes like Swaroopathil Nair

Swaroopathil Nair

Swaroopathil Nairs or Charna Nairs were one of the subcastes belonging to the Nair community in Kerala. They were warriors of Samanta Kshatriya Royal Households known as Swaroopams. This subcaste is found only in Travancore...

s & Chakkala Nair

Chakkala Nair

Chakkala Nair is one of the lower ranking subcastes of the Nair community among Keralites. They are distributed throughout Kerala. In Travancore, they are known as Chakkalans, while in Malabar and Cochin, they are known as Vattakadans...

s.