Tuncattu Eluttacchan (Tuñcattŭ Rāmānujan Eḻuttacchan) was a Malayalam devotional poet and linguist from around the 16th century. Today he is known as the father of Malayalam – the principal language of Kerala and Lakshadweep – and its literature.Eḻuttacchan was born in Trikkantiyur, near the present day Tirur municipality, in south Malabar into a shudra family.