Alexandr Tarancheev, About Zul and a wedding song

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Alexandr talks about candlewicks and a ritual performed at weddings which involves singing a song by holding a cup of vodka in one’s hand: n the past, people collected the feather grass in the steppe and dried them in their houses. Two or three days before Zul, they made candlewicks from that grass by wrapping it with cotton. Each candlewick had to have the same number of grass blades as the age of the person to whom it was dedicated. People also added an extra grass blade into their candlewicks to symbolize a prolongation of life. At weddings three people sing a song called ‘Songin dun’ to those who brought the bride to the wedding. The three singers hold three cups with vodka and offer the cups to the guests. People either drink or sip the vodka and leave money on the plate.