Tags: Ethnic Group.
Samantan Nair or more commonly Samantan (Sama + anta means equal distance or difference rather risen from the common masses) was a generic term applied to dignify a collection of sub-clans among the ruling elite and feudal estate owners of Kerala belonging to the Nair community.[citation needed]Robin Jeffrey an anthropologist described the Samantas as a matrilineal caste ranking between Nayars and Kshatriyas and found in limited numbers in north Travancore.