Introduction
Amish, also referred to as the Amish Mennonite or the Plain people, refers to the members of a Christian group mainly situated in North America. The history of the community can be traced back to the 16th century during the reformation in Europe. The Anabaptist movement led to the creation of three communities which include Amish, Brethren, and Mennonites. The community is well known for being more conservative, emphasizing family, community, and humility and their unique ideologies from the rest of the people, such as reluctance to adopt modern aspects such as electricity and technology. These unique characteristics tend to separate the Amish from the other two Anabaptist-related groups and the rest of the people. The Amish people’s cultural beliefs and way of life have been represented in the visual culture in various aspects, such as paintings. Analyzing these visual arts enables one to gain in-depth insight into some critical community features, such as the acceptable mode of dressing, family structure, and socioeconomic organization.
Background
Origin of the Amish
The Origin of the Amish community can be traced to the Mennonite group. Amish and Mennonite communities were part of the early Anabaptist movement in Europe. The Anabaptist movement was based on the belief that baptism should only be conducted on adults who had confessed their faith. A relatively large number of the people subscribing to the view were killed as heretics by both Protestants and Catholics. The remaining people fled to the mountains of southern Germany and Switzerland hence the Amish farming tradition (Discover Lancaster, 2023). A young Catholic priest from Holland, Menno Simons, defected to the Anabaptist movement in 1536. His leadership and writings brought unity in the Anabaptist groups, later nicknamed Mennonites.
Jacob Amman, a Swiss bishop, broke from the Mennonite church in 1693, and his followers were referred to as Amish. Although the two groups, Amish and Mennonite, have separated, they still share similarities regarding fundamental Bible doctrines, baptism, and non-resistance beliefs. Amman held various beliefs, resulting in conflicts with other Mennonite leaders and the splinting (Discover Lancaster, 2023). For instance, he introduced multiple beliefs and practices among his believers, such as foot washing, into the worship service, requiring the members to wear uniforms and not trimming beards. Despite Amman seeking reconciliation with the Mennonites, his actions bore no fruits resulting in the separation of the two communities (American Experience, 2023). This led to the formation of Amish communities in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Russia, and Alsace.
Historical Background
The Amish community started migrating to North America in the 18th century, with the first sizable group arriving in Lancaster County in the 1720s. Eastern Pennsylvania was the initial area where the community settled. The area remains one of the largest settlement regions. They then followed the frontier into other counties in the state and into other states such as Ohio and Indiana. After 1850, disruption occurred in the community as a result of the tensions between the old order, also referred to as the traditional Amish, and the new order Amish (Britannica, 2023). The new order category accepted the technological innovations and social changes over time, while the old order did not. The following years after the separation, about two-thirds of the Amish people formed small separate churches or joined the Mennonite Church. The migration of the Amish community into North America in the 19th and 20th centuries, together with assimilation by the Mennonite groups, led to the elimination of the group in Europe.
Population
Currently, the majority of the traditional Amish subscribe to the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. Reports indicate that the number of Amish members in the early 21st century was 250,000. They were living in more than 200 settlements situated in Canada and the United States (Britannica, 2023). Some of the states in both countries whereby they are situated include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Indiana, Maine, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin. In the settlements, the community is usually divided into church districts comprising about 75 baptized members who form part of the autonomous congregations. In situations whereby a church district becomes larger, it is divided since the members meet at their homes since there are no church buildings. The districts usually comprise a bishop, an elder, and about two to four preachers.
Language
The community uses both Dutch and English language when communicating amongst themselves and with people from other areas. In places such as Lancaster County, they usually use Pennsylvania Dutch, which they consider their first and native language. Even though different groups in the community speak the language differently, they can understand each other well. The language, also known as Pennsylvania German, was developed in the eighteenth century due to the immigration of German speakers from the Europe regions such as Switzerland to the southeastern parts of the state (Amish Studies, 2023). It is common for the Amish members to use the language when communicating with each other or when administering sermons during church services. To effectively communicate with the outside world, the Amish read, write and speak English. However, a small segment of the community called the Swiss Amish, mainly residing in southern Indiana, speaks a form of Bernese Swiss German. Thus, Pennsylvania Dutch and English are the languages that are frequently used by the Amish community.
Social Organization
The Amish tend to believe in communal harmony, which is threatened by the values and ideologies propagated by the modern world. The majority groups of the Amish communities reduce their interactions with outsiders and limit their use of modern technology to preserve their way of life. They have the notion that the harmony and well-being of their community are threatened by the secular values such as pride and individualism advanced by modern society. The Amish community prohibits behaviors that result in greed and individualism. This is portrayed through their plain dressing style and forbidding photography (Johnson-Weiner, 2020). Despite resisting the cultural influences imposed by the contemporary society, they are willing to compromise, hence tapping the benefits of resources such as technology while still preserving their Amish identity. For instance, they are ready to utilize modern technology to communicate, live and work. However, they are required to ensure that the technology used does not disrupt the stability of families and the community at large. As a result, there is limited use of technology in various aspects of life aspects such as agriculture.
Humility is one of the essential social virtues according to the Amish community ideologies. People with mild and modest personalities are highly esteemed in society. Maturity is defined by traits such as patients, waiting, and the ability to yield to others (Discover Lancaster, 2023). The members are encouraged to forego their personal aspirations to attain community purity as a way of preserving Amish identity and maintaining spiritual harmony in the community. Thus, obedience and conformity to community activities and objectives are highly encouraged. Therefore, the Amish members believe in the community and are required to forego their personal virtues and needs for the survival and growth of the community.
Religious Organization
The entire Old Order Amish is not governed by a single entity or set of rules, and instead, each church district decides the acceptable code of conduct. However, the districts are required to base all their practices on the interpretation of the Bible and a set of unwritten regulations known as the Ordnung. Shunning, referred to as Meidug, is a common way through which the community deals with disobedient members (Britannica, 2023). Amish community discourages personal Bible studies and devotions since they believe individual interpretations may be against the traditional doctrines. Thus, the community believes that religion is the primary basis for the values that they adopt into their daily life.
There are minor differences between the Amish and Mennonites regarding formal religious doctrines. Both groups tend to celebrate Holy communion twice annually, and they still practice the foot-washing doctrine. Baptism for members happens between 17 to 20 years after being formally admitted to the church’s membership. High German and Pennsylvania Dutch are the only languages used for religious services. The church services are held at family barns and homes in a rotating manner (Britannica, 2023). During the service day, a large wagon provides benches for the people to sit on and food for the meals that follow. In the homes of the majority of the Amish community members, there is a special place that is reserved together with a book containing details of Amish history in a chronic manner and the Bible for the Martyr’s Mirror. The reserved area is also for honoring the large number of Anabaptists, Mennonite, and Amish forebears who were killed for their faith. The religion is mainly focused on replicating the actions and practices of Jesus Christ and hence conforms with beliefs followed in other Christian denominations.
The Representation of the Amish in Visual Culture
The Image
Retrieved from https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Pennsylvania,_WPA_poster,_ca._1938.jpg
The visual art chosen for the analysis is an image drawn by an employee of the Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1941. The piece was released to the public domain since it is a work of the federal government of the United States of America. The original art is of the size 1921 by 2418 pixels. It is part of the Works Progress Administration Pennsylvania Art Project poster utilized for promoting Lancaster County. It shows an Amish family. The image depicts some of the aspects that constitute the Amish culture relating to family and other socioeconomic characteristics of the community.
Family Hierarchy
One of the critical aspects represented in the visual art is the Amish ideology when it comes to family and its hierarchy. The Amish community basis most of its doctrines and beliefs on the Christian faith and the Bible as the reference for the acceptable behaviors in the community (The Amish Village, 2021). According to the Bible, the man is the head of the family, while the wife is the second in command, followed by the children. In the painting, the hierarchy is clearly portrayed with the image of the man presented at the top while that of the woman follows, and the child is depicted at the bottom of the image. The Amish community believes that family is a critical component of society and that the structure should remain as indicated by the Bible. The family is a very crucial social unit for the Amish culture, and they value the time spent together and the connection that they share (Mutual Interest Media, 2020). Having a painting that includes the basic constitutes of a family member according to the beliefs emphasizes their culture. Thus, the image is able to adequately indicate the Amish cultural idea of family and its members.
Economic Activity
The painting also depicts the preferred economic activity for the Amish family, which is farming. The community history indicates that after settling down in the highland areas of southern Germany and Switzerland, the Amish, like the other Anabaptists, adopted farming as their economic activity (Britannica, 2023). As indicated in the image, the father is holding farming equipment, indicating he is a farmer. The mother is carrying a basket containing eggs, emphasizing the argument that the community’s primary source of income is agriculture. There is also a picture of a bird hence showing the source of the eggs. In the Amish culture, the family tends to engage in most activities, such as business, attending church services, and eating together. The image shows that the father and mother collaborate in the family, which portrays the Amish culture. Therefore, the painting also shows the economic activity of the Amish community in Pennsylvania.
The image also shows the resistance that the community has when it comes to adopting modern technology and a way of life. Amish community believes in the traditional way of life that their ancestors had adopted, including the form of dressing, the primary family structure, and the tools they used. For instance, the tool that the father is holding is not modern (Discover Lancaster, 2023). The basket that the mother is holding is also a traditional piece of equipment used for collecting and gathering. The father is also depicted as the provider, while the mother is a helper on the farm, which goes against the modern ideology of gender equality. The father, as portrayed in the image, is responsible for tilling the land, which was traditionally considered a man’s job, while the role of the mother is to collect the eggs laid by the chickens they have kept. Thus, the image shows the community’s resistance to modern ideologies and equipment, including technology, and the changes in gender roles.
Dressing Code
The community requires people to wear plain clothes that show humility and simplicity. They believe that wearing multi-colored clothing is a show of individualism and pride which is not acceptable at the community level (Miller, 2020). For instance, the father and the son in the painting wear plain blue shirts and black coats. The mother, on the other hand, sports a plain black garment. The culture also disapproves of the use of buttons, zippers, and Velcro and instead encourages the use of hook and eye closures, and pins to fasten clothes (Miller, 2020). They have the notion that these materials are designed to impress and display wealth and luxury, which goes against their simple way of life. In the image, the father and son have no buttons or zippers on the shirts and coats, showing their humility and lack of pride.
In the image, the family is also dressed in the appropriate attire according to the established gender dress codes. The community has a predetermined way of clothing for men and boys, which is different for women and girls. The men and boys are required to wear broad-brimmed black hats and suits that are dark-colored and solid-colored shirts (Ohio’s Amish Country Magazine, 2020). The man and the boy depicted in the painting are dressed accordingly in blue colored shirts, without any other color, broad-brimmed hats, and straight-cut coats. According to Amish traditions, men are required to grow beards after getting married. This is the reason why the man, who is considered the father, has a beard while the son does not have one (Britannica, 2023). However, it is forbidden for men to have mustaches, and the man in the image does not have one. On the other hand, women and girls must wear long full dresses with capes over their shoulders and bonnets. The woman portrayed in the painting is wearing a long full dress with a cape over her shoulders, showing compliance with the traditions. Women are also prohibited from wearing any jewelry, a custom that the woman in the image follows. Thus, the Amish community has a strict dress code.
Simplicity
Simplicity is one of the values that the members of the Amish community highly regard. The practices and way of life they subscribe to resonate with the European peasants who lived in the 17th century. The community’s tradition shows their reluctance to change, their respect for their culture, and their interpretation of the Bible and the Christian faith (Britannica, 2023). For instance, the clothes they wore represent simplicity since they are mostly self-made and are associated with the non-conformist lifestyle. The economic activity the community members choose to engage in is agriculture which shows their desire for a simple life. The fact that they are reluctant when it comes to the adoption and use of technology also indicates simplicity. They believe that a simple life is a symbol of humility which is one of the essential guiding values for the community (The Amish Village, 2021). The image depicts simplicity from the clothes they wear, the lack of jewelry, the lifestyle portrayed, and the family structure.
Conclusion
Therefore, analyzing the image provides in-depth insights into the cultural and social aspects of the Amish community. The community originated from the Mennonite group, a part of the Anabaptist movement. It migrated to North America in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Members subscribing to the faith reside in various states in both Canada and the United States of America. Pennsylvania Dutch and English are the languages that the community mostly use to communicate among themselves and outsiders, respectively. The members tend to promote communal needs over their own hence against individualism. The church district plays a critical role in the community, including determining the acceptable code of conduct among its members. The image painted by the Works Progress Administration is an example of visual art that represents the culture of the Amish people. It shows the family hierarchy described by the community and the Christian doctrines they subscribe to. It also shows the preferred economic activity for the Amish people: agriculture. The painting depicts the acceptable dress code for males and females. The Amish community is based on the ideology of simplicity as an indicator of humility which is clearly shown in the visual art. Thus, visual arts can be employed to portray the social, religious, economic, and cultural aspects of a given community, such as the Amish.
References
American Experience. (2023). Who is Amish? Retrieved from American Experience: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/amish-who-is-amish/
Amish Studies. (2023). Language. Retrieved from Amish Studies: https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/social-organization/language/
Britannica. (2023). Amish; North American religious group. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amish
Discover Lancaster. (2023). Amish History & Beliefs. Retrieved from Discover Lancaster: https://www.discoverlancaster.com/amish/history-beliefs/
Johnson-Weiner, K. M. (2020). The Lives of Amish Women. John Hopkins University Press.
Miller, R. (2020). Amish Dress Codes. Retrieved from Amish Gateaway: https://amishgateway.com/amish-dress-codes/
Mutual Interest Media. (2020). The Amish economy – 5 fascinating characteristics. Retrieved from Mutual Interest Media: https://www.mutualinterest.coop/2020/08/the-amish-economy-5-fascinating-characteristics
Ohio’s Amish Country Magazine. (2020). Amish Dress. Retrieved from Ohio’s Amish Country Magazine: https://ohiosamishcountry.com/articles/amish-dres
The Amish Village. (2021). The 4 Core Values of the Amish Culture. Retrieved from The Amish Village: https://www.amishvillage.com/blog/the-4-core-values-of-the-amish-culture/
write