Pullapilly and also by Rene Barendse, who is a Fellow of the International Institute for Asian Studies, claims that the caste system established by Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala was in accordance with the will of Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu. The Nambudiris had control of 64 villages and asserted that they had powers given to them by the gods, so much so that they considered even other Brahmin groups to be outside the caste hierarchy. Both writers consider this to be the traditional Nambudiri myth of origin. The Nambudiri Brahmins were at the top of the ritual caste hierarchy, outranking even the kings. Anyone who was not a Nambudiri was treated by them as an untouchable. Ritual pollution The entire Malabar region had strict pollution rules that were considered by the observers to be the most extreme in all of India. Lower caste people could use only separate paths and their houses were in places where they could not be seen. Lower castes can pollute a Brahmin or Nair, not by mere touch but also coming within certain feet from them. Nairs were permitted to kill a lower caste Pulayar on sight if they met with one of them on the highway. The Nambudhri Brahmins were top of the caste hierarchy and the Pulayar were at the lowest. According to most travelers, the Nairs were placed below the kings and the Brahmins in Caste hierarchy. The Ambalavasis were kept between the Brahmins and the Nairs. The lower castes were known as tintal jati, i.e. castes which pollutes at a distance. The food of the upper castes were referred to as "Amruthathu" (elixir) and the food of the lower castes was called "karikadi" (black brew), similarly the, dwelling places of the higher castes and the thatched huts of the lower castes were called the "royal abode" and "the field of rubbish" respectively. The lower castes, particularly the Pulayars were not even allowed to breathe the same air as the other castes or use a public pathway. A lower caste person could pollute a higher caste person by merely coming within a certain distance from him or in extreme cases the pollution is transmitted even by simply seeing a lower caste person. If by accident he was there and he sees an approaching Nair or a Brahmin, he must make a loud howling sound to warn the upper castes from getting near