Saturday, 1 October 2016

Why are people from Tamil Nadu generally darker than those from Kerala even though they are at the same distance from the equator?


The people of Kerala, known as "Malayali" (people speaking Malayalam), is polygenetic and belong to different ethnic groups and religions. Hence to generalize and say Malayalies are fair skinned is unfair.
There is nothing like pure breed. Everyone is a mix, DNA studies have proved it.
Since time immemorial, there have been frequent migrations to Kerala from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. The history of ancient Kerala itself is deeply intertwined with Tamil Nadu's ancient past, and the Tamil and Malayalam languages are closely related.
History/Ethnicity
 Kerala, located in the southern part of India, had easy access to rest of the world.
Kerala had trade relations with Arabs, Sumers, Babylonians, Romans, Assyrians and Egyptians. The earliest churches, mosques, and synagogues in India were built in Kerala. The current day Malayalis are descendants of the combined ethnic groups.
CLIMATE
I was in Tamil Nadu(Coimbatore, Trichy) for 3–4 years during initial days people could recognise me as a Malayali due to my skin tone. But gradually my skin got conditioned and I looked like a Tamilian.
My body adapted to the climate hair became dry, skin tone changed etc. Once I returned to my native people for some time mistook me to be a non-Malayali. Within few months skin and hair were in its original condition, and now I was a Malayali. :-)
This was an eye opener for me, more then anything it is the climate.

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