Within Bhil communities, death rites are shaped by a blend of animistic sensibility, ancestor veneration, and regional variation. When a person dies, the body is bathed and dressed in clean clothes, often adorned with ornaments, and laid on a bamboo stretcher, sometimes with the head oriented in a particular direction such as north. Relatives and neighbors gather to mourn, with women in many places expressing grief in loud lamentation, and a wake-like atmosphere may prevail around the house or courtyard. This initial phase marks the recognition that the life-breath has departed and that the spirit is beginning a journey toward the realm of ancestors and local deities.

Both cremation and burial are known among the Bhils, with cremation generally more common and burial often reserved for children, those who die in certain circumstances, or when cremation is impractical. The body is carried in procession on the bamboo bier to a cremation or burial ground, usually outside the main settlement, and there it is either consigned to the funeral pyre or placed in a grave. Personal belongings of the deceased may accompany the body, whether on the pyre or in the earth, so that the spirit is not left bereft of familiar objects. Graves, where used, tend to be marked simply, with stones or wooden posts rather than elaborate monuments, reflecting a preference for modest, functional memorials.

Ritual offerings form the heart of the Bhil approach to death, revealing a worldview in which the dead remain potent presences. Food, water, and alcohol are commonly offered to the deceased, both at the time of cremation or burial and in subsequent observances, and the favorite foods of the departed may be prepared as a gesture of affection and continuity. These offerings are not merely symbolic; they are directed to the spirit of the deceased, to ancestral beings, and to nature deities, with the explicit aim of pacifying the soul and preventing it from becoming a wandering or harmful presence. Songs, and in some contexts dances, may accompany these rites, turning grief into a communal act of remembrance and transition.

After the immediate rites, a period of mourning extends over several days or even weeks, during which the bereaved observe various restrictions and undergo purification rituals to remove the impurity associated with death. Memorial feasts and later ceremonies integrate the deceased into the wider community of ancestors, sometimes represented by stones or wooden posts that become focal points for remembrance and propitiation. Over time, the spirit of the departed is understood to join the collective of ancestral spirits linked to particular lands, groves, or trees, maintaining an enduring connection between the living, the dead, and the natural world. In this way, Bhil funerary practice does not sever the bond between person and place, but rather relocates it into a sacred landscape where earth, fire, water, and spirit remain in continuous relationship.