They work as field laborers, and some sell grass and fuel for cash. Dhatki Bhil villages are not compact, but widely scattered. Houses are located in individual fields, where crops such as millet, maize, wheat and barley are grown. If they intermarry, the Bhil of the lower class must convert to the higher class and sever all family ties. Family respect is strong.
Property is shared equally by male descendants.
Both the Muslim and the Hindu Dhatki Bhil social hierarchical systems are based on castes. The Muslim caste system, unlike the Hindu system, is not based on purity and pollution concepts, nor is it sanctioned by religious ideas. The Muslim hierarchical system can be classified into seven main categories. In 1480, when the Bhil area was invaded by the Muslims, many Bhil converted to Islam. Others retreated into the forested central Indian highlands.