In Travancore, they are known as Chakkala, while in Cochin and Malabar they are Vattakattu[7] and In the extreme north of Malabar they are called Vaniyar[8][9] Vattakattu Nairs[10] is a Forward caste and are now part of the mainstream Nair caste.
[11][12][13]while vaniya nairs and chakkala nairs were recently added to the central OBC category and get a minimal reservation of 3% sharing with 70 other castes on a rotational basis.
It was the duty of Peru Vaniyan Nambiar [14][15] section among Vaniya nairs in Kurumbranad to present the Kurumbranad Raja with oil on the occasion of his formal installation[16] Muchilot Bhagavthi is the patron deity of the Vaniya Nairs and the community serve as the custodian of 108 Muchilot Bhagavathi temples[17] spread across North Malabar from Tulu Nadu to Kozhikode resembling the 108 Shiva Temples mentioned in the Shivalaya Stothram .
It is believed that Bhagavthi first manifested herself to Muchilot PadaNair, a chieftain of Mushika dynasty from the Vaniya nair sect.
[18][19] According to eminent scholars Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan was born in a Chakkala Nair family of Thrikkandiyoor Amsam in Vettathunadu[20]