Avdal is the patron and herdsman of wild animals, above all the wild goats (tur) of the high Daghestani ranges. Hunters sought his favour before the chase and observed taboos over the killing and butchering of game; an excessive or wasteful kill was thought to draw his anger and end a hunter's luck. The figure belongs to the shared hunting cult of the Lezgic peoples, among whom he appears under closely related names.