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Diana receives a hand blessing from the abbot, who married them. He is Buryiat Mongolian and has obtained a license to conduct the nuptial rites in the state of New Jersey., Katrina Thomas's notes: A Jew and a Protestant, both practicing Buddhists for 13 years, marry as a promise to a lama, whom they call "Bakshi, the Kalymk Mongolian word for first teacher, who changed the course of their lives. They are administrators and caretakers of the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, a non-profit religious organization, which their guru founded after setting up the first Tibetan monastery in America.

The couple have exchanged rings, and Diana has received the hand-woven multi-colored apron of a Tibetan married woman. Hung around their necks are kadhaks, filmy white scarves, which represent the good wishes of family and guests in the mountainous homeland of their adopted culture. Kadhaks are a substitute for flower garlands bestowed to Asians living in warmer climes.

Susan and the bridegroom, Bemba visit a Tibetan Buddhist monk to bless their marriage. They sit on a white sheet in which grains of rice, a fertility symbol, also signifying prosperity, are enfolded. The white sheet insures them a happy healthy life together., Katrina Thomas's notes: Kalmyks are the descendants of the Oirats, a semi-nomadic Asian Mongolian people, who lived in felt yurts, and adopted Tibetan Buddhism during their migration from Asia to the European part of Russia. They remained there for nearly 400 years. After World War II, despite America's stringent immigration laws, 571 were admitted in 1951 and 1952, as displaced persons, under a special dispensation of the US attorney general. Others soon followed. Their weddings observe rules and hours, set by an astrological priest, for specified events which incorporate their traditions of a white road. It is based on the fact that milk and milk products are essential to the culture of a herding people. I photographed one wedding in Philadelphia. All the others took place in their rural neighborhood of Freewood Acres that has taken root in Howell Township, NJ.

Arriving at Jalsa's house, in which his relatives are celebrating the marriage, Leslie bows at the door. While she waits, a member of his family, behind the sheet, reads the names of Jalsa's ancestors, and also those more recently deceased, for whom Leslie murmurs a prayer., Katrina Thomas's notes: Kalmyks are the descendants of the Oirats, a semi-nomadic Asian Mongolian people, who lived in felt yurts, and adopted Tibetan Buddhism during their migration from Asia to the European part of Russia. They remained there for nearly 400 years. After World War II, despite America's stringent immigration laws, 571 were admitted in 1951 and 1952, as displaced persons, under a special dispensation of the US attorney general. Others soon followed. Their weddings observe rules and hours, set by an astrological priest, for specified events which incorporate their traditions of a white road. It is based on the fact that milk and milk products are essential to the culture of a herding people. I photographed one wedding in Philadelphia. All the others took place in their rural neighborhood of Freewood Acres that has taken root in Howell Township, NJ.

Dory and Badma visit a Tibetan monk for his blessing. They sit on a white sheet in which grains of rice, a fertility symbol, are enfolded. For the next three nights they will sleep on this sheet, insuring them a happy healthy life together., Katrina Thomas's notes: Kalmyks are the descendants of the Oirats, a semi-nomadic Asian Mongolian people, who lived in felt yurts, and adopted Tibetan Buddhism during their migration from Asia to the European part of Russia. They remained there for nearly 400 years. After World War II, despite America's stringent immigration laws, 571 were admitted in 1951 and 1952, as displaced persons, under a special dispensation of the US attorney general. Others soon followed. Their weddings observe rules and hours, set by an astrological priest, for specified events which incorporate their traditions of a white road. It is based on the fact that milk and milk products are essential to the culture of a herding people. I photographed one wedding in Philadelphia. All the others took place in their rural neighborhood of Freewood Acres that has taken root in Howell Township, NJ.

When they enter, Jalsa's relatives will toast them and present gifts. The traditional gift to the bride is a gold coin, worn as a pendant: Leslie will receive a $10 gold piece from Jalsa's mother. Leslie's mother will give Jalsa a gold ring set with lavender jade. The traditional gifts for relatives are not valuable -- shirts for men and four yards of cloth for women., Katrina Thomas's notes: Kalmyks are the descendants of the Oirats, a semi-nomadic Asian Mongolian people, who lived in felt yurts, and adopted Tibetan Buddhism during their migration from Asia to the European part of Russia. They remained there for nearly 400 years. After World War II, despite America's stringent immigration laws, 571 were admitted in 1951 and 1952, as displaced persons, under a special dispensation of the US attorney general. Others soon followed. Their weddings observe rules and hours, set by an astrological priest, for specified events which incorporate their traditions of a white road. It is based on the fact that milk and milk products are essential to the culture of a herding people. I photographed one wedding in Philadelphia. All the others took place in their rural neighborhood of Freewood Acres that has taken root in Howell Township, NJ.

Offering gifts of food to the spirits is a common Buddhist practice. After cutting a wedding cake, Diana and Josh place the top of it on the temple altar. On a table behind them is a mandala and the flag given to their Kalmyk guru, Bakshi, when he became an American citizen., Katrina Thomas's notes: A Jew and a Protestant, both practicing Buddhists for 13 years, marry as a promise to a lama, whom they call "Bakshi, the Kalymk Mongolian word for first teacher, who changed the course of their lives. They are administrators and caretakers of the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, a non-profit religious organization, which their guru founded after setting up the first Tibetan monastery in America.

Wearing a pink kerchief, its color astrologically determined, Susan leaves for Bemba's house accompanied by the ax'lache, his best man whose horoscope is compatible with hers. She dips her finger in milk, held by her mother, specifically for luck, to have a white road., Katrina Thomas's notes: Kalmyks are the descendants of the Oirats, a semi-nomadic Asian Mongolian people, who lived in felt yurts, and adopted Tibetan Buddhism during their migration from Asia to the European part of Russia. They remained there for nearly 400 years. After World War II, despite America's stringent immigration laws, 571 were admitted in 1951 and 1952, as displaced persons, under a special dispensation of the US attorney general. Others soon followed. Their weddings observe rules and hours, set by an astrological priest, for specified events which incorporate their traditions of a white road. It is based on the fact that milk and milk products are essential to the culture of a herding people. I photographed one wedding in Philadelphia. All the others took place in their rural neighborhood of Freewood Acres that has taken root in Howell Township, NJ.

In a room, separate from the wedding reception, Dory changes from her white wedding dress into native dress, a "tseg'deg." Her mother and a friend part her hair to make two braids, the hairstyle of a married woman., Katrina Thomas's notes: Kalmyks are the descendants of the Oirats, a semi-nomadic Asian Mongolian people, who lived in felt yurts, and adopted Tibetan Buddhism during their migration from Asia to the European part of Russia. They remained there for nearly 400 years. After World War II, despite America's stringent immigration laws, 571 were admitted in 1951 and 1952, as displaced persons, under a special dispensation of the US attorney general. Others soon followed. Their weddings observe rules and hours, set by an astrological priest, for specified events which incorporate their traditions of a white road. It is based on the fact that milk and milk products are essential to the culture of a herding people. I photographed one wedding in Philadelphia. All the others took place in their rural neighborhood of Freewood Acres that has taken root in Howell Township, NJ.