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Paper short abstract

In Sikkim, natural disasters are seen as signs that "our deities are angry," caused by human neglect and improper handling of sacred ritual waste. To maintain harmonious relations with these deities, locals perform rituals and offerings to appease them and ensure peaceful coexistence.

Paper long abstract

In Sikkim, environmental disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and cloudbursts are understood through vernacular Buddhist cosmologies as consequences of disrupted relationships with local deities. Villagers often interpret these events as "our deities are angry" and as divine punishment linked to human negligence and improper handling of sacred ritual waste. This paper explores the ambivalent status of ritual remnants as both sacred and polluting, whose mismanagement provokes ecological imbalance and divine wrath. Through narratives of fear and retribution, Sikkimese communities adopt ritual care and ethical practices emphasizing reciprocity and spiritual responsibility, providing an alternative to technoscientific disaster models. The study highlights how these beliefs sustain more-than-human relations and reflect a distinctive environmental justice grounded in sacred materiality and care.