Winds of change: Religion and climate in the western himalayas

Along with water levels and weather patterns, global climate change impacts the human ecology of religious traditions as well. People in many parts of the world are struggling to make the connection between religious worldviews they have trusted for ages to orient them and a world whose climate seems to be suddenly turning upside-down. An especially striking example of the changing cultural and physical climate can be found in the rural Kullu Valley of the West Indian Himalayas, where the effects of meteorological changes are compounded by the rapid advance of capitalist modernity. This paper examines how villagers interpret these dramatic changes in a religious register and attempt to counter the climatic disturbances through ritual actions. Their responses reveal a strong commitment to older ritual mechanisms and religious beliefs, alongside growing doubts about human and divine agency, as well as their traditional holistic understanding of the natural and supernatural world.