Ezhuthachan (caste)
They mainly belong to the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thrissur of Kerala, has also presence outside and other parts of India. There are more people in the teaching sector in the community. Ezhuthachan is a caste who have teaching as a traditional profession. There is an organization representing the community as "Ezhuthachan Samajam".
Vedic priesthood
Comparison with the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, a distinct religion with the same origins, shows the antiquity of terms for priests such as "*atharwan" (Vedic "atharvan"; cognate to Avestan "āθrauuan" / "aθaurun") and "*zhautar" (Ved. "hotar"; Av. "zaotar") "invoker, sacrificer". While "*zhautar" is well understood, the original meaning of "*atharwan" is unknown. The word "atharvan" appears in the Rig Veda (e.g., in RV 6.16.13 where Agni is said to have been churned by Atharvan from the mind of every poet). In the Younger Avesta, "āθrauuan" / "aθaurun" appears in a context that suggests "missionary," perhaps by metathesis from Indo-Iranian "*arthavan" "possessing purpose." However, a recent theory indicates that Proto Indo-Iranian "*atharwan" likely represents a substrate word from the unknown language of the BMAC civilization of Central Asia. It can be analyzed as BMAC "*athar-" plus the Indo-Iranian possessive suffix "*-wan", in which case "*atharwan" would be "one who possesses "*athar"". Though the meaning of "*athar" is unknown, Pinault speculates that it meant "superior force" and connects it to the Tocharian word for "hero". In the Upanishads, "atharvan" appears for example in "atharvāngiras", a compound of "atharvan" and "angiras", either two eponymous rishis or their family names.