Marriage Traditions of the Amish - Essay Example

The Amish: Marriage Traditions The Amish, or the ‘Plain People,’ are an American Protestant religious sect, centered in Pennsylvania. The Amish trace their roots to the radical movement of the Anabaptists in Europe in the 1500’s. Later, Menno Simons led a reformist movement, which saw the birth of the Mennonites. In the late 1600’s, due to differences in the stricter observance of religious practices, Jacob Ammon split from the mainstream of Mennonism, to found the Amish. Religious persecution brought the Amish to America in the early 1700’s. Amish membership in the US and Canada is approximately 100,000. Their language is a German dialect called Pennsylvania Dutch, and religious services are held in the homes of community members – not in churches. Farming is their preferred occupation, although they have diversified into small businesses, such as furniture and leather goods. Based on the Biblical words, ‘Be ye not conformed to the world,’ the Amish isolate themselves from mainstream society, rejecting social security, public education, technology and automobiles (Boeree, n.d.). Separation of the State and church, a literal interpretation of the Bible, non-violence, separation from the world, distinct appearance and clothing, and strict adherence to the ‘Ordnung,’ or oral tradition of rules, are characteristic, unique Amish beliefs (Robinson, 2005). Devotion to community and family is the hallmark of the Amish. The welfare of the community supersedes individual interests. As the family is the center of the Amish community, marriage is a significant step in life, and is governed by several rules and traditional rituals. Amish marriages demonstrate the societal functions of establishing stable relationships, regulating sexual division of labor, and providing for the needs of the children. Amish marriages are directed towards the establishment of permanent relationships between a man and a woman. This is to ensure the stability of the community. As such, marriage is linked with group identity and culture. It is a part of the need to strengthen community ties. This attempt to create stable unions, in accordance with the social regulations which govern their sect, mandates that Amish marriages are governed by various strictures. These rituals strengthen the feeling of identity and sense of belonging to the community. In order to maintain the isolation of the community from outside culture, marriages outside the faith are not permitted. Consanguineous marriage is not encouraged. In furtherance of group unity, all Amish marriages are identical in the order of service, the religious passage read, the food served, and the songs sung. Amish marriages reinforce the tenet that “All are equal and all are actively integrated members of the community” (Hartman, 2001). The marriage ceremony is totally integrated into the community schedule. All proposed marriages are ‘published’ during the Sunday service, and the fathers announce the wedding date and invite the entire community to participate. The bride’s dress is blue, simple, hand-stitched and practical. It is later used as a Sunday church dress. Marriages are held at the bride’s home in November and early December, when the harvest has been gathered in, and winter is yet to come. Tuesdays and Thursdays are chosen, in order to facilitate preparation and cleaning up on days other than the Sabbath. The marriage ceremony is a religious service, with counseling of the bride and groom by the minister, prayers, hymns, scripture readings and blessings (“Amish Weddings”). It is evident that this is a way to “remind the couple being joined that theirs is a contract bound before God” (Hartman, 2001), and cannot be broken. It is relevant to note here that divorce is not recognized by the Amish, and is absolutely forbidden. In the case of the death of one of the partners, remarriage is allowed (Aurand, 1938). Party games are played in the barn, usually by the younger generation. Every part of the marriage ceremony, including the seating arrangements and the food served, is fixed. In a further strengthening of community bonds through marriage, the newly-married couples spend their honeymoon visiting the homes of their relatives, where they receive practical wedding gifts, and become acquainted with their new relatives (“Amish Weddings”). Amish marriages serve as instruments to define gender roles in the community. This division of labor is crucial in the maintenance of communal harmony and the survival of the community’s unique lifestyle. As in all aspects of their lives, gender roles are strictly prescribed, and well-defined, in the Amish ‘Ordnung.’ Wives are subordinate to their husbands. As the Amish reject modern conveniences and appliances which the contemporary housewife takes for granted, Amish wives have their hands full with cleaning the house, sewing, mending, preparing meals, gardening, and caring for the cattle and poultry. Wives also work alongside their husbands in the fields. It is evident that in the Amish marriage, “The woman’s place is in the home and in the harvest fields” (Aurand, 1938). The wife is dedicated to motherhood, and does not engage in full-time work outside the home when the children are young. It is the woman who accepts the major responsibility for “nurturing the spiritual life of children” (“Amish Studies”). At-home stores, green-houses, and bakeries are some of the common avenues of business for Amish women. The husband’s role is that of the family breadwinner. “Husbands carry the primary responsibility for the financial well-being of the family” (“Amish Studies”). However, when the husband works at home, there is considerable sharing of tasks- particularly in the garden and the barn.  The man is unequivocally acknowledged to be the religious head of the house. All religious matters pertaining to the church and the community are decided by him. Decisions regarding the household and the discipline of the children are shared by the husband and wife. In a striking example of gender solidarity in the community, adult sisters often gather for a ‘Sisters Day,’ a “frolic that mixes work and fun while harvesting vegetables, cleaning house, or making quilts” (“Amish Studies”). As in all marriages, these gender roles are not rigidly fixed, and are subject to great variation, depending on the individual partners, and the ability of the wife to contribute to the family finances. According to the patriarchal order of Amish society, unmarried girls continue to live under the father’s authority (Robinson, 2005). The gender roles prescribed by marriage support the smooth functioning of the community. Amish marriages establish a set of family relationships which cater to the needs of children. Amish have large families, averaging 7-8 children. Amish parents are determined to play the major role in the nurture and upbringing of their children, so that the children are acculturated to integrate with the community. In Amish estimation, a formal education up to the eighth grade is sufficient, and their emphasis is on vocational training. This led to Amish resentment against the consolidation of public schools into large districts in the 1940’s. In 1972, the US Supreme Court judgment conceded the Amish the right to stop their children’s’ formal education at the age of fourteen. Most Amish children attend private one or two-room schools run by Amish parents. Here is an example of the institution of marriage and family taking complete responsibility for the nurture of the children of the community, including their education. It is the fathers who form a local school board and take on the task of hiring teachers, drawing up the curriculum, assigning a budget and maintaining the school. The teachers are generally graduates of Amish schools, self-trained through periodic teacher’s meetings and teacher’s magazines, and concentrate on religious development and imparting Amish values: cooperative behavior is given precedence over individual critical thinking. As such, the emphasis is on schools that “play an important role in passing on Amish values, developing friendships, limiting exposure to the outside world, and preserving Amish culture across the generations” (“Amish Studies”). Science and sex education are generally avoided. In a crucial phase of child rearing, the Amish follow the tradition of ‘Rumspringa,’ or ‘running around.’ This entails children above the age of sixteen being given the freedom to experience life outside the community for a few years, and then to decide whether they wish to become fully baptized members of the community. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of Amish youth: 80% – 90%, decide to rejoin the community (Robinson, 2005). In another instance of marriage, and family, nurturing children, the Amish do not have the concept of retirement homes. Elderly people live in a separate apartment in the home of one of their children, or in a ‘Grossdawdy Haus,’ which is a small house adjacent to the home of the adult child. This system is designed so that the grandchildren have access to the grandparents who can “pass on the wisdom, joys, and secrets of Amish life to the rising generation” (“Amish Studies”). This ensures the continuity of the traditions and cultural norms of the larger community. As adherence to the cultural norms of the community is paramount to ensure the continuity of the Amish way of life, the institutions of family and marriage are of particular significance to the Amish. Marriage is a part of a complex pattern of rituals and traditions which bind the community. Marriage is used to reinforce cultural identity and religious values. Firstly, marriage is intimately linked to the establishment of permanent relationships. This ensures the stability of the community. As every aspect of Amish life revolves round religion and community, the marriage is devised to be a religious affair, performed in the presence of the entire community. As such, it becomes both a religious contract with God, and a public declaration of “a couples commitment to each other for the rest of their lives (Hartman, 2001). These stable relationships ensure that sexual mating is brought within the ambit of social approval. Community participation in the marriage also engenders a sense of belonging among all the members. Secondly, Amish marriages clearly lay down gender roles, and the division of labor. Economic obligations, child-rearing, religious duties, and other aspects of family and community life, are all subject to the sexual division of labor. As the expectations and obligations of the wife and husband are explicitly defined, there is no cause for dissension, and the stability of the family, and the community, is again ensured. Thirdly, Amish marriages abundantly provide for the material and spiritual support of children: “The extended family provides a dense web of social support from cradle to grave” (“Amish Studies”). Child-rearing, education, and religious instruction are imparted to the child within the ambit of marriage. Marriage plays the deciding role in passing on the traditions and culture of the community to the next generation. Thus, it is seen that Amish marriages are instrumental in reinforcing community bonds. By establishing permanent relationships, defining gender roles and providing for the long-term care of children, Amish marriages admirably perform the three functions of marriage and lay the foundation of Amish society. Works Cited “Amish Weddings.” Lancaster County Information Center. 2012. Web. 10 July 2012. http://www.800padutch.com/amishweddings.shtml “Amish Studies.” The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. 2012. Web. 10 July 2012. http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Index.asp Aurand, A.M. “The Amish.” At Sacred-Texts.com. 1938. Web. 10 July 2012. http://www.sacred-texts.com/ame/amish/am07.htm Boeree, George. “The Amish.” N.d. Web. 10 July 2012. http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/amishlinks.html Hartman, Joel. “The Role of the Amish Marriage Ceremony in Reinforcing the Values of Religious Devotion, Simplicity, and Group Unity.” University of Missouri. 2001. Web. 10 July 2012. http://web.missouri.edu/~hartmanj/rs150/papers/weberw001.html Robinson, B.A. “The Amish: history, beliefs, practices, conflicts, etc.” Religious Tolerance Organization. 2005. Web. 10 July 2012. http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm Read More