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00:32:58
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Transcription: {SPEAKER name="Lisa Chickering"}
[00:30:02]
After the bride's pundit reads to them from their holy book, dough - signifying food and plenty - is placed in their hands in the promise to share everything together.

[00:30:16]
The passing around of a tray with money on it is done in the hope of securing a prosperous marriage. Perhaps this is where the expression "passing the buck" came from.

[00:30:27]
The fire symbolizes warmth and purity, the qualities their love must have. The popcorn poured into it and the colored rice surrounding it represent the desire for many children and a fertile land.

[00:30:39]
The two families are united by tying the father of the groom to the mother of the bride. Whom he later consoles with the old adage, "she hasn't lost a daughter, but gained a son".

[00:30:54]
And as Krishna and Radhika's story together just begins, our story about them ends.

[00:31:02]
And not only can one feel in Suriname as though they are in India, but also China. For here the Chinese are the main shop owners and tradesmen. They have a thriving community of their own. When one goes out to the nearby rice paddies it's hard to believe that this is really the Western Hemisphere and not the Orient.

[00:31:23]
The Chinese, also, were imported under five-year contracts to work on the plantations. In fact, they were the first foreign group brought to Suriname for this purpose.

[00:31:32]
The last group brought in to work on the plantations where the Javanese. They have a civilization and culture dating back centuries in which music and dancing have always played an important role.

[00:31:45]
[[music as intro & underscore]] Their unusual orchestras are made up entirely of percussion instruments. And with their exotic sound they accompany these young girls as they perform their highly stylized dance just as it was done in the ancient courts of the Kings of Java. [[music grows faster]]

[00:32:47]
[[music as underscore continues]] With the applause of the crowd, the men now perform their dance with the same slow grace and unusual strength that typifies Javanese dancing.

[00:32:59]


Transcription Notes:
It sounds like the speaker is saying "unuserous strength". Transcribed as "unusual strength".