Their fortunes varied, and those who resisted subjection were probably sometimes accepted as allies.

For instance, some of the most prominent of the Rajput clans are held to have been derived from the aboriginal [28] tribes.

On the Aryan expedition to southern India, which is preserved in the legend of Rama, as related in the Ramayana, it is stated that Rama was assisted by Hanuman with his army of apes.

The reference is generally held to be to the fact that the Aryans had as auxiliaries some of the forest tribes, and these were consequently allies, and highly thought of, as shown by the legend and by their identification with the mighty god Hanuman.

And at the present time the forest tribes who live separately from the Hindus in the jungle tracts are, as a rule, not regarded as impure.