Traditionally, the Rauts were involved in herding and milking cattle. Traditionlly, their main business was sale of milk and milk products.
Raut Nacha is a traditional dance of the Raut community which is performed on Diwali. In this dance, the Rauts wear a special costume, sing and dance in a group with sticks in their hands in the village pathways. The Raut men traditionally performed the local folk epic
Candaini (or
Chandaini) in a combination of dance and song. The epic tells the story of princess Chanda, who leaves her impotent husband and falls in love with a common man
Veer Lorik. Both the characters are from the Raut caste, and the epic seems to have originated in this caste. As late as 1980, the Candaini performers used to be primarily from the Raut caste, but now people from other communities also take part in the performances. == Sub-castes and related groups ==