Thachanadan/Thachanadan Moopan are inhabitants of Kalpetta, Meppadi, Muttil and Ambalavayal panchayats of Wayanad and Nilambur area of Malappuram district.
Settlements of the community are termed as ‘padi’. The department of Malayalam Lexicon (1992) identified thirty-six geographical groupings and four phratries and these are dealt in detail in Encyclopaedia of Dravidian Tribes, vol. 2 (1992). It is notable that Kulakkattu daivam, Kariathan, Cherumba Bhagawathy, Gulikan and the spirits of the ancestors,are worshipped and the members of Wayanad Kadar officiate as priests. An object called Kanayam is considered as a sacred object, which symbolises power of ancestral spirits. Kolkali and Vattakkali are the major performances, wherein both male and females participate.
As per the 2011 census their population is 1745, of which 859 are males and 886 are females. They have a sex ratio of 1031 and the literacy rate is 85.5.