The goal of life is to live in balance with the world. Humans live in a middle world, but there are upper and lower worlds as well. Only shamans can find the doorways to these spiritual worlds. Sometimes the shaman eases such transitions with the help of hallucinogenic substances or alcohol. Indeed, alcoholic spirits play an integral role in many shaman ceremonies.
Participants drink vodka during rituals, making sure to offer frequent drops to the gods.
People would not understand me if I just cast spells and prayed for rain. About 350,000 Buryats live in Siberia, with roots in the empire of Genghis Khan. Having spent centuries under Russian czarist and then Soviet rule, the Buryats have been mostly assimilated. Many of the people speak the Buryat language, which resembles Mongolian, but relatively few read and write it. Khagdayev is trying to change that.