Urban Ritual Events and Coping with Disaster Risk A Case Study of Lalitpur, Nepal Roshan Bhakta Bhandari, Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Urban Management, Kyoto University, Japan Norio Okada, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan J. David Knottnerus, Department of Sociology, Oklahoma State University ABSTRACT This study analyzes the role of ritual for enhancing the capacity of a community in Nepal to adapt to disaster risk Personal accounts of 1934 earthquake survivors of Lalitpur City were recorded and analyzed to better understand the social dynamics that occurred during this event. This data was supplemented and expanded upon with more recent interviews, observa- tions, and other forms of evidence concerning the experiences of modern-day residents in this community. We employ structural ritualization theory and its key concepts—salience, repeti- tiveness, homologousness, and resources— to investigate how ritualized symbolic practices contribute to the social capacity of a community to cope with disasters. Findings reveal that people engage in various ritualized activities before, during, and after disasters and these practices enhance iheir ability to cope with such situations and revive a normal social life. Fi- nally implications of this study and the need for further research are discussed. AN EARLIER VERSION OF THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED at the 9th IIASA (International Institute of Ap- plied System Analysis)—DPRI (Disaster Prevention Research Institute) Conference on Integrated Disaster Risk Management (1DRiM09), Kyoto, Japan, 2009. This study was supported by the Dis- aster Reduction Systems laboratory at Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPR1), Kyoto Uni- versity. The authors would like to acknowledge the kind cooperation of staffs at Machhendranath Guthi Lalitpur, representatives from Lalitpur Municipality Office, and NSET (National Society for Earthquake Technology) for their valuable research information. The authors are grateful to Dr. Ana Maria Cruz, adjunct professor at DPRI, Kyoto University, for kindly reviewing the paper during the initial stages. Also special thanks to the students at Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Pulchowk, Nepal, for their assistance in collect- ing the data reported here. 13