Amish who are. Harbingers of a new race from the past? Following the letter of the scripture
One of the most famous religious minority groups in the world, the Amish are famous for their traditional way of life. They live a much simpler life than the vast majority of people, often purely at the expense of Agriculture and industry. There are many legends around this group, which separated from the Mennonites several centuries ago, so let's try to figure out what is actually true.
1. The origin of the Amish
The term "Amish" comes from the name of Jacob Ammann, a Swiss Anabaptist and Mennonite who vehemently advocated a literal interpretation of the Bible. His ideas caused a split in the church, and Amman's followers who left with him became known as the Amish.
2. Baptism and marriage
Baptism among the Amish occurs most often at the age of 18-22. Until this happens, a person is not allowed to marry. Also, at the time of marriage, both future spouses must be members of the church.
3. Nonviolence
The Amish are notorious pacifists and reject any form of violence. That is why they did not participate in any war.
4. Faceless dolls
Anyone who sees Amish dolls without knowing anything about them in advance will probably remember a couple of horror films. They just don't have faces. Faceless puppets are believed to keep people from pride and vanity. Also for a similar reason, the Amish do not play musical instruments, arguing that the tools are a method of self-expression that will stimulate the development of a sense of pride and superiority.
5. Rumspringa
When an Amish child reaches the age of 16, they become a "rumspringa". For a certain amount of time, he is allowed to go outside and do things that are generally forbidden in the Amish community. During this time, the teenager must decide whether he will be baptized and become a member of the Amish Church or leave the community forever.
6. Amish in numbers
The Amish first emigrated to North America in the early 1700s and initially settled in Pennsylvania. Today, over 300,000 Amish live in more than 28 US states and Canada.
7. The role of women in the Amish
A woman in an Amish family is primarily a housewife whose duties include cooking, household and helping neighbors. “In public”, a woman, as a rule, follows the example of her husband.
8. Avoidance and weaning
The Amish can punish members of their society with two different ways. The first of these is "avoidance", in which members of the community limit all contact with the offender in order to shame him and point out the fallacy of his path. A more serious punishment is "excommunication". This is a complete cessation of contact with a person and his expulsion from the community. Even parents should stop contact with their child if he has been excommunicated.
9. Cars
In general, it is a well-known fact that the Amish cannot use motorized vehicles such as cars. They mainly use horses and carts.
10 Famous Beards
If you just look at an Amish man, you can immediately tell whether he is married or not. After the wedding, every Amish immediately begins to grow a beard.
11. Women's dresses
Amish women have a different tradition after marriage. They wear their wedding attire (which they must make themselves) to Sunday church services.
12. Education
Amish children study in small schools for one class with teachers from the community. After the end of such primary education the child begins to receive professional education(for example, agricultural and carpentry skills) from their family and community members.
13. Preaching
Those who want to join the Amish Church will face certain difficulties. First, you need to learn the German dialect spoken by the Pennsylvanian Amish (some only speak German), as well as forego modern conveniences that the Amish simply do not have. The new convert is placed with an Amish family to adjust to their way of life. After a sufficient period of acclimatization, a vote is held in the church on the advisability of recognizing a potential convert as a member of the congregation.And in continuation of the theme of another people with interesting history - .
One of the most famous religious minority groups in the world, the Amish are famous for their traditional way of life. They live much more simply than the vast majority of people, often purely at the expense of agriculture and fishing. There are many legends around this group, which separated from the Mennonites several centuries ago, so let's try to figure out what is actually true.
Amish origins
The term "Amish" comes from the name of Jacob Ammann, a Swiss Anabaptist and Mennonite who vehemently advocated a literal interpretation of the Bible. His ideas caused a split in the church, and Amman's followers who left with him became known as the Amish.
Baptism and marriage
Baptism among the Amish occurs most often at the age of 18-22. Until this happens, a person is not allowed to marry. Also, at the time of marriage, both future spouses must be members of the church.
Nonviolence
The Amish are notorious pacifists and reject any form of violence. That is why they did not participate in any war.
faceless dolls
Anyone who sees Amish dolls without knowing anything about them in advance will probably remember a couple of horror films. They just don't have faces. Faceless puppets are believed to keep people from pride and vanity. It is also for a similar reason that the Amish do not play musical instruments, claiming that the instruments are a method of self-expression that will encourage the development of a sense of pride and superiority.
Rumspringa
When an Amish child reaches the age of 16, they become a "rumspringa". For a certain amount of time, he is allowed to go outside and do things that are generally forbidden in the Amish community. During this time, the teenager must decide whether he will be baptized and become a member of the Amish Church or leave the community forever.
Amish in numbers
The Amish first emigrated to North America in the early 1700s and initially settled in Pennsylvania. Today, over 300,000 Amish live in more than 28 US states and Canada.
The role of women in the Amish
A woman in an Amish family is primarily a housewife, whose duties include cooking, housekeeping, and helping neighbors. “In public”, a woman, as a rule, follows the example of her husband.
Avoidance and weaning
The Amish can punish members of their society in two different ways. The first of these is "avoidance", in which members of the community limit all contact with the offender in order to shame him and point out the fallacy of his path. A more serious punishment is "excommunication". This is a complete cessation of contact with a person and his expulsion from the community. Even parents should stop contact with their child if he has been excommunicated.
Cars
In general, it is a well known fact that the Amish cannot use motorized vehicles such as cars. They mainly use horses and carts.
famous beards
If you just look at an Amish man, you can immediately tell whether he is married or not. After the wedding, every Amish immediately begins to grow a beard.
Women's dresses
Amish women have a different tradition after marriage. They wear their wedding attire (which they must make themselves) to Sunday church services.
Education
Amish children study in small schools for one class with teachers from the community. After completing this primary education, the child begins to receive vocational training (eg agricultural and carpentry skills) from his family and community members.
Preaching
The Amish differ from other Christians in that they do not engage in missionary work or evangelism. Simply put, they are not trying to convert as many people as possible to their faith.
Medications
Amish communities generally do not object to the use modern medicine and resort to it in serious cases. Since the Amish do not have insurance, the money to pay for the treatment of the patient is collected by the whole community.
Conversion to the Amish faith
Those who want to join the Amish Church will face certain difficulties. First, you need to learn the German dialect spoken by the Pennsylvanian Amish (some only speak German), as well as give up modern conveniences that the Amish simply do not have. The new convert is placed with an Amish family to adjust to their way of life. After a sufficient period of acclimatization, a vote is held in the church on the advisability of recognizing a potential convert as a member of the congregation.
Strictly speaking, the Amish are a religious movement. But I write about the Amish because here in the USA, many people know them and often cite them as an example. So they say: “Well, you are a real Amish!”. Are you interested? - Well, listen.
I'm currently watching Friends. Slowly I overcome series after series, putting on an English sound track. I like it, at the same time I tighten my tongue. So in this series or sitcom, the Amish are remembered through two episodes to the third.
Basically, it looks like this. For example, one of the characters in the film is going to make a simple table on the computer. And the second one asks him: “Why on a computer, isn’t it possible with an ordinary pen on paper?”
To which he receives the answer: “No, Amish boy!” That is, as if: “You can’t, Neanderthal!” Got it about the Amish? These are the people who… further from Wikipedia:
... are distinguished by the simplicity of life and clothing, unwillingness to accept some modern technologies and convenience. The movement of the followers of Jacob Ammann arose in 1693 in Europe, but then most of the Amish were forced to flee persecution and emigrate to America. The majority of the Amish currently live in the United States and Canada.
That is, in America there are separate settlements of the Amish. Moreover, unlike, for example, the Dutch settlements, which are more theatrical, staged, for the Amish this is a normal life.
There are many Amish in our state of Illinois, also nearby - in Indiana and Michigan. Well, in general, they are well settled in America. Many Amish also live in Canada.
The Amish appreciate manual labor, simple rural life, and practically do not use modern technology. They ride horse-drawn carts, they don't have cars.
Interestingly, the Amish family usually has 7 children. From this it is clear that the Amish population is one of the fastest growing in the world. If in 1920 there were only 5,000 Amish, then in the past 2011 there were already 261,150.
The fact is that the Amish are engaged in agriculture in the old fashioned way. And this means that their cows graze in the meadows and they do not add antibiotics to the chicken feed. Just go crazy! 🙂
That is, they have natural food. My wife is always looking for Amish egg cartons in the grocery store. They are more expensive, but there are eggs with a yellow yolk and delicious.
Amish furniture is made entirely of wood, no chipboard. The furniture is quite expensive, but very strong and reliable.
Interesting guys these Amish. They live on their own and do not interfere with others. I thought for a long time whether it was worth writing about them on this site, and then I decided that it would be interesting for someone.
Here are some photos of the Amish. The photos are not mine, I have not visited them in the village yet. But something tells me that I will go there! 🙂
By the way, the Amish themselves are never photographed. And so the state specifically developed passports without photographs for the Amish. Look, most of the photos are from the back or furtively!
P.S. It turns out that there is a film about the Amish with very famous artists. Starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis (remember the doctor from Top Gun with a young Tom Cruise). And the film is called "Witness". Here is his promotional video.
The Amish are a movement of followers of the Mennonite ideologue from Switzerland, Jacob Ammann, that appeared in Europe at the end of the 17th century. Because of the persecution, many Amish were forced to immigrate to America. And to this day they zealously preserve their traditions, strikingly different from modern Americans.
Following the letter of the scripture
The Amish take literally everything that is said in the Bible. If it says "be fruitful and multiply," then so be it. That is why the Amish population in America is doubling every 20 years. While among the general population of the United States, the average birth rate does not exceed two children per family, the Amish have 6-7 offspring. There are approximately 200,000 Amish in North America today.
Given that all North American Amish prefer to find mates within their community, they are faced with the problem of inbreeding - closely related incest, which gives rise to a lot genetic abnormalities And high level mortality among newborns. Understanding the danger of endogamy, the Amish impose a ban on marriage between cousins, but the union between second cousins is still allowed.
Without leaving home
Traditionally, Amish communities do not build places of worship and conduct all services at home, following this scripture, where the church is not defined as a building, but as a gathering of people. During the liturgy, which lasts 3 hours, men and women stand separately, listening to the sermon and singing hymns in Pennsylvania German.
If there are many people in the house where the service is held, then the pastor has to move from room to room to get around all the parishioners. By the way, Amish pastors do not undergo special training, as is customary in other churches, but are determined by lot.
The ban on civilization
The Amish are an extremely closed community. They do not recognize technological progress, actually isolating themselves from the benefits of civilization. The Ordnung (Amish code of life) prohibits the use of mains electricity, telephones, and computers. Refrigerators and bathrooms are banned in the most conservative communities.
The Amish are not allowed to drive a car, let alone own one, but they can use the bus or train. The traditional form of Amish transport is the horse-drawn carriage, however, the maximum travel distance should not exceed 40 kilometers, as the animal cannot be overloaded.
Amish clothing is also strictly regulated. Only simple robes made from natural materials - no sneakers, jeans, belts, gloves, ties, pockets, and even buttons (they are replaced by fasteners or pins).
Only the essentials
The Amish also reject traditional school education, as it, in their opinion, is overloaded with completely unnecessary disciplines. Their children study in small community schools where they study only reading, writing and arithmetic.
After graduating from the 8th grade, boys and girls receive vocational training, primarily in the field of agriculture, as well as various kinds of crafts. The Amish leave only what helps them survive. Everything else is from the evil one.
Selective Violence
The Amish reject any cooperation with the outside American community: they refuse to serve in the army, to comply with any order of the authorities or the police. By interpreting Christ's sermons in their own way, they do not allow themselves to be drawn into the judicial system, considering it as manifestations of violence and aggression.
However, in some cases, violence within the community is highly encouraged. When children show disobedience by grimacing, swearing, or outbursts of anger, they are inevitably exposed to corporal punishment.
Main advantage
Amish men follow a strict rule. As soon as they marry, they are obliged to grow a beard - only a beard, not a mustache. A beard is a sacred attribute for them, and forcibly cutting it off, which can happen during a quarrel between representatives of different families, is equated with sacrilege. Such a crime is punishable by a prison term.
The fact is that, according to American law, cutting off the beard of the Amish is tantamount to a crime against religious freedom, and here representatives of the communities are ready to cooperate with the authorities. For example, in 2013, an Ohio jury sentenced the organizer of a beard-cutting attack to 15 years in prison, while his 15 accomplices received sentences ranging from one to seven years.
between us board
As a rule, an Amish couple who is about to tie the knot does not have an intimate relationship before marriage. Young ones can lie in the same bed, but will be fenced off from each other with tucked blankets and a board fitted between them. Sometimes the mother of the bride can sew her child into a canvas bag, in which the girl will stay until morning. And so for a month.
Do what you want
Another interesting custom among the Amish is the “rumspringa” (literally “fugitive”). Between the ages of 14 and 16, every teenager has the right to independently explore external world subjecting himself to all his temptations. After all, the Amish are consciously baptized only at the age of 16 and before that they are not considered full members of the religious community.
Rumspringa will not be judged by his brethren for wearing youth clothes, or for driving a car, or for sexual promiscuity, or even for using drugs. Moreover, the teenager has the option not to return to the community, but as a rule, over 90% of the fugitives end up among the Amish.
Don't make an idol
Curiously, Amish baby dolls lack distinctive features– faces, hair, fingers and in general coloring. This is explained simply: the Amish believe that only God has the right to create images of people, even if it is a toy. Faceless dolls form a uniformity that does not allow one toy to look better than another, otherwise there is a desire for vanity.
This may explain the ban on posing for photographs. The Amish believe that such photography is tantamount to violating the commandment "do not make yourself an idol." However, a photo or video taken in a casual manner is allowed by the Amish. Therefore, in the Amish passport, we will either not see photographs at all, or there it will be captured in a natural environment, say, against the backdrop of nature.
Since my photos do not cause any reaction, which is very depressing ... considering the downpour outside the window ... In short, I made a strong-willed decision - to stop doing unnecessary garbage, I will not post them anymore. Instead, you will have to entertain you with local bikes.
The other day, I mean last week, I had a chance to talk with the Amish.
For those who are not in the tank
The Amish are one of the offshoots of Mennonism. The name comes from Jacob Ammann, a Mennonite leader in Alsace in the second half of the 17th century. The main feature of their doctrine is a more strict adherence to the Holy Scriptures. The Amish give paramount importance to the provision in Paul's letter to the Romans regarding the separation of church and state.
Amish leaders are not professional church leaders. They are elected by lot and carry out their activities free of charge.
The Amish do not have prayer buildings. Divine services are held in turn in the private homes of fellow believers. Services are held through Sunday. On those Sundays when there are no services (Friendship Sundays), the Amish rest and visit friends. Each Amish congregation has two preachers. The bishop and the deacon serve in two communities, holding divine services in them alternately on different Sundays. The Amish speak to each other in a dialect of German, but in general they speak excellent English.
Women wear long plain dresses, usually black, blue or green, but with an obligatory apron: for a married woman it is black, for an unmarried woman it is white. Dresses do not differ in a special variety of colors and cuts - there are only two of them: a dress with a sewn-in skirt and a dress with an apron (similar to the Russian school uniform of the 70s and 80s). All girls and women wear caps - white or black, covering the back of the head and tied with ribbons under the chin.
The men wear black and navy blue suits. The clothes are sewn so that there is not a single button. This is because buttons were considered a luxury item, and were not used or used minimally, so that they were not visible on clothing. If there were several open buttons on a coat or jacket, then these clothes had to be removed at the entrance to the church, or rather, the house where they prayed. Pants support suspenders; there are no buttons on the trousers, they are replaced by a hook and loop system. Pure color shirts; white - for church service. The men's wardrobe is complemented by a black felt hat or a straw hat. Children dress the same as adults, boys usually wear straw hats.
In relations with the worldly environment, they behave in a closed way. They have kept their life and appearance almost unchanged since the 17th century. The Amish live in a community, help each other, lead a subsistence economy, give birth to many children, do not use the products of civilization, such as: electricity, vehicles (the Amish is allowed to ride in a car as a passenger, but not a driver), they sew clothes for themselves, only they buy material in a store , do not go to public schools: they have their own, where education is eight years old. The Amish pay taxes, but they don’t pay into the National Insurance Fund, which means they don’t receive a pension either: they take care of their old people themselves. They also treat themselves, probably, they have their own healers, because in eight classes you are unlikely to master the wisdom of medicine. But their health, presumably, is not bad: this is both natural selection and healthy lifestyle life. Prohibitions on the use of electricity, cars and other elements of civilization are dictated not by religious, but by the moral convictions of the Emish: it is not the use of technical goods that is condemned, but their possible moral consequences. The Amish do not like to be photographed, as they believe that their images can be used "for evil."
The Amish rarely marry anyone outside their community, with the Mennonites being the exception. As a result of intermarriage within small communities, the Amish are subject to genetic degradation. If children do not like the life of their parents, they may well choose a different life. The basic law of the Amish is "heaven through hard work."
At the beginning of the 18th century, part of the Amish moved to the United States (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana), where the Quaker William Penn, who proclaimed freedom of religion, provided the Amish and Mennonites with refuge in the southeastern part of the state. The main city of the district and the center of the “Amish country” is Cross Keys (the modern name is Intercourse).
Strict adherence to Mennonite traditionalism led to a split in the Amish. In 1865, ultra-conservative co-religionists departed from the Amish. The most liberal groups merged in the 10-20s of the 20th century with the Mennonite Church in the USA and entered the Mennonite Central Conference (founded in 1899).
The Amish, who were not affiliated with the Mennonite Church, established the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference in 1910, which was renamed the Conservative Mennonite Church in 1954.
The number of Amish in the United States at the end of the 20th century. - 90-120 thousand people living mainly in the state of Ohio. Amish and Mennonites in the United States are collectively referred to as "pennsylvania dutch" ("Pennsylvanian Dutch"). The Amish refer to the rest of the United States as "English".
In 198, a film called The Witness was released, starring Harrison Ford. Many believe that the best film about the Amish is hard to find, because the director showed the Amish community with great respect.
The Amish family I interacted with is impressive. Stately, thin, in old, slightly baggy clothes. The Amish are very tall: men under two meters, women under a meter 1.80. Men do not shave their beards and wear straw hats. So good, strong open people real peasants. Big, strong, hard-working hands. For some reason, I immediately thought that it was thanks to such people that the West was conquered. They speak English very clearly without an accent. Respect for elders is strictly observed, if the head of the family speaks, then everyone else remains silent.
This family came to Canada from the States to visit friends. However, the Americans got mad at them for some reason and gave them, in addition to their American passports, a piece of paper proving that they had no citizenship. So it turns out that in the States they are not very much liked, and according to them, with Bush coming to power, everything only worsened and they began to gradually survive. In Canada, they are also unwanted guests, given the Canadian-American good neighborly relations. In short, the Amish decided to tear their claws .... That's right, to Russia They say, we've been told so much that the Russians are evil, that they are bad, and we are convinced that this is not so. We have been to your country and we really liked it there. So, they say we want to get a residence permit, move to Russia (they are thinking about the Kaliningrad region), they are actively learning Russian (daughters already write and chat tolerably, adults read printed text and continue to actively carpet). We wrote a letter to the Minister of Agriculture Gordeev and the Governor of the Kaliningrad Region with a request to provide assistance .. In general, things are moving ...