The spiritual masters of localities (i.e. hills, trees, water sources, etc.) can take any animal form, including that of snakes, birds and so on. They may either help or harm people. One day when Sangadzhi was performing the ritual of gal tyalgn he saw a dog running around. After the ritual the dog disappeared. Sangadzhi thinks that the dog was a local spirit. The Kalmyks worship Tsagan Aav, who is regarded as the protector of the Kalmyk land and the master of the Universe. This deity can also harm or help people. Buddhist monks acknowledge the existence of such local spirits. However, they advise people not to worship but to make offerings to such entities. Sangadzhi says that images of Buddhist deities possess power which comes from the depicted deities themselves. Therefore, deities may demand that people who have their images in possession perform a special ritual whereby they accept these deities as protectors. It also happens that sometimes people may invite deities unwittingly by purchasing their images. Deities-protectors should be offered food and candles, and mantras should be read to them during fasting days. In Kalmyk belief, deities choose people. Even nonreligious people can have the kind of problems that can be solved only with the help of religion and accepting deities as protectors. Sometimes deities may skip generations, but eventually they choose descendants and demand certain rituals. Sangadzhi warns that people should be very careful when handling the images of deities. If one happens to have a newspaper with an image of a deity, that person should take that newspaper to a temple. Damaged religious objects, including beads, have to be washed in a running water, for it is believed that running water cleanses. If one has religious objects inherited from ancestors lying idle in the house, that person should consult a monk or a folk healer as to what to do with these objects. It is also important for Kalmyks to keep the picture of their clan deities at home. It is not advisable to buy images of various deities and put them on one’s domestic altar. It is also forbidden to throw away or to give away such images, because by doing so one may give away his/her own luck. If someone receives a picture of a deity as a present, it is a good sign for the receiver. The receiver has to compensate the giver with money. Some people had monks among their ancestors. The spirits of monks may demand that their descendants accept them as protectors in the way Buddhist deities do.