Prooythaan, i.e. ‘to sprinkle alms’, is the term used for a Buddhist practice in which monetary gifts are thrown into a crowd of visitors to an event, such as here during a buatnaag ordination ceremony called buat (fig.).

Here, the riyan prooythaan (fig.) are in the form of lotus flower buds, which may carry a deeper symbolism, i.e. whereas the discarding of money symbolizes the retreat from the material world, the lotus buds are a Buddhist symbol of Enlightenment (fig.).