Kerala is a state in south-western India. Most of Kerala's 33.4 million people (as per 2011 census) are ethnically Malayalis (Malayalam speakers). The people of Kerala trace their origins to Dravidians and Aryans and have mixed ancestry. Additional ancestries derive from millennia of trade links across the Arabian Sea, whereby people of Arab, Jewish, Syriac, Portuguese, English, Chinese and other ethnic groups settled in Kerala. Many of these immigrants intermarried with native Malayalam speakers resulting in formation of many Muslim and Christian groups in Kerala. Some Muslims and Christians thus trace their lineage to Middle Eastern and European settlers who mixed with the native population.
Malayalam is Kerala's official language and is spoken by at least 97% of the people of Kerala; the next most common language is English. Tamil is spoken mainly in the districts bordering Tamil Nadu, especially Idukki and Palakkad. Tulu is spoken in the northern parts of Kasaragod district. In addition, Kerala is home to 321,000 indigenous tribal Adivasis (1.10% of the populace). Some 63% of tribals reside in the eastern districts of Wayanad (where 35.82% are tribals), Palakkad (1.02%), and Idukki (15.66%). These groups, including the Paniyars, Mooppans, Irulars, Kurumbars, and Mudugars, speak their own native languages. Cholanaikkan tribe in the Silent Valley National Park were contacted only in the 1970s and they are the most isolated tribe in the state.
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