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Hinduism is generally viewed as having originated with the Aryans, but it is far more accurately described as an amalgam of pre-Aryan and Aryan elements. For instance, image-worship, which predominates in popular Hinduism, finds almost no mention in the Vedas. Shiva, the all-important god besides Vishnu, is almost certainly a non-Aryan god (absent in the Vedas) who eventually made his way into the Hindu pantheon. The innumerable mother goddesses (devis) who spangle Hinduism are also non-Aryan.

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Indra is described in the Rig Veda, the most important of the Vedic scriptures, as the vanquisher of a dark-skinned people and destroyer of forts and citadels.

The indigenous people are seen as possibly matriarchal and "softer'' in their approach to life. The Aryans are viewed instead as patriarchal and more inclined to prize masculinity.

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