When it did not rain and drought followed, old people gathered and prayed for rain, making offerings to the river. People prepared food and vodka and lit up zul (candles). While reading prayers monks would dig out the pit for the fire, they stacked logs in the pit and lit them. People would throw everything they brought into the fire, including salt, melted butter, sweets and bortsg. Then they put offerings on a raft or a plank together with lit up zul and set this raft with offerings out on the river. When the prayer was over, people would eat the rest of the food while praying. People would stay while the fire and zul were burning, they sat and discussed their issues and then went to their homes. Sometimes it rained after such ritual. At the time when there were no clergymen we made offerings to the water ourselves and it rained, although not every time.