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When the earlier Brahmins (Namboodris) migrated to Kerala late in the first millenium, CE, they "acted as priests, counsellors, and advisers to local kings." In other words, they got to perform their "high status" roles when such opportunities were limited elsewhere. And in so doing, they introduced the caste system where none existed before.
The Keraal Iyer Brahmins were recruited by local kings about half a millenium later (e.g. 13th century) to break the stranglehold of the Namboodris. These two groups differed in ideology, and tended to compete, rather than cooperate, at least at first.