Intersection of Health, Illness and Religiosity Among Bengali Women Performing Brata Rites: An Explorative Study

Brata is a votive rite comprising a set of moral code, validated by sacredness and performed essentially by married women to obtain a happy married life, to gain particular objectives related to welfare of family, long life of the husband and in most cases to ward off the evil forces from one's life. Illness is defined as deviation in normal functioning of an individual's life. According to Hindu mythology, prevalence of illness is attributed to demons and planets causing illness who can only be tamed if Brata is undertaken and prayers through fasting is offered.

Interpretive understanding of Brata reveals that Brata provides meaning to one’s life and the stories associated with each Brata observance helps in coping with the stress that comes with sickness and ill -health. The stories recited during Brata observance rekindles faith in the Goddesses, re-establishes essence of one’s life and is used either to justify the stories of suffering or provides them with the sense of solace that the tortures and pain in this life is the result of the past crimes of wrong doings that they had committed. On applying the cognitive model, it is observed that Brata rites by women help in restoring faith among the elderly members of family who are suffering from degenerative illness.

Brata as a spiritual capital exercises its agency by rationalising the desire to live and struggle with mental anxiety that ill health brings along with it. Brata activates a cohesive element among the members by fostering trust and reciprocity among the community members. On applying Bourdieu’s concept of social capital in understanding Brata rites, the paper aims in understanding how Brata provides moral support to individuals in experiencing ailment, not as an individual deviation but as a social trouble that has can be rectified or lived with.