Ant_101_Final_Paper

The Amish Culture ANT 101 Christina Winn March 10, 2012 The Amish way of life The Amish culture and way of life is very interesting and their unique beliefs make them different from any other culture today. The Amish subsistence is farm, this making the Amish horticulturalists. How does the Amish being appose to technology and being horticulturalist effect the beliefs and values, gender relations and sickness and healing in the Amish culture today' The Amish culture was founded in Europe by Jacob Amman [~1644 to ~1720 CE], from whom their name is comes from [Mackall's, 2007, par.2]. It started as a reform group within the Mennonite movement. It was an attempt to restore some of the early practices of the Mennonites. The Amish who split from Mennonites generally lived in Switzerland. In the late 17th century, they separated because of what they saw a lack of discipline among the Mennonites. Some Amish migrated to the United States, starting in the early 18th century. They initially settled in Pennsylvania. Other waves of immigrants became established in New York, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri Ohio, and other states [Mackall’s, 2007, par.3]. Amish believe in humility and anything to give separation to the outside world including their appearance [Powell, 2010, par.4]. All Amish dress in a very simple style and all clothing are made at home from plain fabric and mostly dark color. Even the women are not allowed to wear clothing with patterns and are forbidden to wear jewelry. Men mostly wear suits or trousers without pockets or lapels and women mostly wear full dresses with long sleeves and a full skirt, covered with a cape and an apron. Women never cut their hair and wear it in a bun covering it with a small white cap or black bonnet. Young men are clean shaven before they get married and married men are required to let their beards grow. Mustaches are forbidden [Powell, 2010, par.6]. The Amish are opposed to any technology, because they feel as if it will weaken the family structure. Things such as electricity, automobiles, T.V.’s, tractors, Computers are considered to be evil temptations and are not accepted in most Amish communities. They feel like these temptations could lead the Amish away from their communities. It is common for Amish communities to allow the use of telephones, but not in the home. Instead, several Amish families will share a telephone in a wooden shanty between farms [Powell, 2010, par. 2]. Amish get around in horse-drawn buggies that are dark in color to avoid standing out. Even though the Amish are opposed to technology, electricity is allowed in certain situations such as electric fences for cattle. Electricity is powered through a naturally generated source such as windmills [Powell, 2010, par.2]. There is a core belief that hard work is the way to serve God in the Amish community. The use of cars or electricity would therefore have the effect of diminishing their hard work and their opportunity to serve God [Patton, 2005, par.4]. Amish do not allow photographs in the community because of strict adherence to the Bibles commandment on graven images. They also never serve in the armed forces and will turn the other cheek as the Bible commands when attacked or persecuted [Powell, 2010, par. 7]. The Amish community puts a limitation on their education. There is a high standard of basic education until eighth grade but higher education is discouraged and often familiarity with the wider world is limited. To the Amish the more important education is to farm and raise a family and through this to serve God [Patton, 2005, par.6]. There is a period in the late teens when a teenager may move away from the community and leave it if they chose. But once they are baptized, they must remain within the religion [Patton, 2005, par.8]. Baptism is also a way of showing your faithfulness to the Amish ways of living. If they decide to not get baptized the young Amish teenager are not only moving away from the community, but also leaving in most cases with little to nothing to live on and losing their friends and family in the Amish culture and force to make it on their own. Amish people tend to do things their own way and tend to block out what is going on in society. The Amish believed that it was necessary to exclude those who did not confirm to their beliefs, even if the person concerned was a member of their own family. The religious basis for this belief was supported by Corinthians II, 6: ‘Be ye not yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with the unrighteousness. What communion hath light with darkness'’[Patton, 2005, par.2]. They live off of the land and there primary mode of subsistence is farming this making the Amish Horticulturalists [Powell, 2010, par.3]. Amish people do not use any modern agriculture equipment but instead rely on the old methods to farm and harvest crops. This means most Amish farm their fields with horse-drawn machinery. Amish make their own furniture and other wood work items, and the women sew quilts and clothing. The Amish value their Family, land and livestock. The objects cited most often as being ‘‘most treasured’’ among women were quilts, china cabinets, and glassware. The objects that were cited most often as being ‘‘most important’’ among the Amish women were fairly wide-ranging: horses and buggies, everyday dishes, cooking stoves, refrigerators, homes, the Bible, clothing, legal documents, and a religious book [Tharp, 2007, p.4]. As for the men the objects that are “most treasure” are hunting rifles passed down, a plaque of the family genealogy, their homes, furniture that was given by parents, a coin collection, and the Bible and Testament [Tharp, 2007, p.5]. When a young Amish couple gets married they are given a piece of land handed down by one of the fathers so the young couple can get a head start in taking care of them self and earning a living. There are no divorces in the Amish culture. The average Amish family has seven children and is not uncommon to have more than fifth teen kids due to the fact Amish get married very young and do not use any form of birth control. Amish men out live Amish women, and the reason why is because of the high birth rate. Women take care of the gardening, sewing, cooking and also the children. The Amish do not discuss sex, pregnancy or birthing with their children, even when the baby is born at home. The men are head of the household taking care of the farm lands and building projects [Powell, 2010, par.6]. . When it comes to sickness and healing Amish often favor non-clinical approaches to health care and medical treatment. Many Amish prefer natural herbs and medicines to artificial treatments [Hostetler, 2009, par.5]. Most Amish do not carry commercial health insurance and would rather take care of the illness at home then to travel long distance for medical treatment. If they do wind up taking medical treatment they prefer someone who has experience dealing with Amish people over someone who is more commercial. Only by understanding the Amish religion belief system can nurse practitioners effectively meet the health care needs of their Amish patients. Dietary supplements are very popular to Amish and sold directly by the Amish themselves [Hostetler, 2009, par.7]. Even though the Amish maybe appose to technology and refuse to use engine driven tractors to help out with the farming, Amish people still get by with the older methods of farming. They also do not need doctors unless things get really bad due to the fact that they make their own medicine. Amish people value families like most cultures and the land that they live on and depend on to keep them alive. The Amish men depend on their wife’s to cook, garden, take care of the kids and make clothing as the Amish wife’s depend on their husbands to be successful farmers, to hunt and provide food for the family and to build furniture. But one thing both genders do together is past down the old traditions of the Amish culture down to their kids so they could be successful in the Amish way of living. References Albrecht Powell (2010) “Daily Amish Life.” Retrieved February 25, 2012 Joe Mackall's (2007) "Plain Secrets: An outsider among the Amish." Retrieved February 25, 2012 John A. Hostetler (2009) “Health and Healing in Amish Communities” Retrieved February 25, 2012 Bruce M. Tharp (2007) “Valued Amish Possessions: Expanding Material Culture and Consumption” Retrieved March 9, 2012 from Ashford Library Michael A. Patton (2005) “Genetic studies in the Amish community” Retrieved March 8, 2012 from Ashford Library