Biocultural Dimensions of Mental Health, Stigma and Resilience Among Bhil Women in Rajasthan

This article examines the biocultural dimensions of mental health among Bhil women in Dhinkli, Udaipur, with particular attention to how distress, stigma and resilience are shaped by everyday life. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between October 2022 and March 2023, the study explores how women describe emotional strain through culturally grounded idioms, such as mann udaas hai , bojh and ‘tension’, rather than clinical language. Their experiences of distress are closely tied to labour demands, early marriage, alcohol-related domestic conflict and the broader gendered hierarchies of Bhil society. Stigma and expectations of silence influence how women interpret suffering and limit their willingness to seek formal care. Help-seeking practices move between ritual healing, herbal remedies, kin networks and, less frequently, biomedical services. Despite significant challenges, women draw on subtle forms of resilience—humour, shared work, ritual and small acts of everyday care. A biocultural approach shows how emotional distress is produced and managed through the interaction of ecology, labour, gender norms and cultural meaning. The study highlights the need for mental health interventions that recognise local idioms of distress and the social realities of tribal women’s lives.