Amish Culture - Essay Example
Amish Culture
Odel R. Ortega
ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Prof. Corinne Barker
April 01, 2012
Amish Culture The Amish or Anabaptists date back to sixteenth-century Europe were they lived a life of turmoil due to their subsequent believes. The Amish’s primary mode of subsistence known as emerging agriculturalists, a method of cultivating soil, producing crops, raising and hording livestock. Traditional Amish culture revolve around agriculture, farm life is practiced and handed down through ancestry. The farming life style is extremely important to the Amish because not only is it their primary source of subsistence but it is also what it means to be an Amish. By working together in the field, the Amish work as a unit, fostering family and self-reliance, creating a bond among neighbors during harvest time or at a barn-raising. To the Amish barn work is as serious as their beliefs towards religion; they only interrupt barn work for weddings, funerals and other important religious occasions, without inconveniences. Now that I’ve given some background on the Amish I will explain how is it that their strong beliefs in farming affects the Amish life style. There are three aspects I will be referring to, one of them being their beliefs and values. The Amish believed in following the path of Jesus Christ by loving their enemies, forgiving insults and turning the other cheek. This is why the Amish live the life of a farmer, because by doing so, they can be one with nature and god, thus deterring from insignificant acts such as bashing and harassing. The second aspect involved is their particular gender relation example; the typical Amish spouse, will take care of the shores, while the typical Amish man will fix things around the house, barn and or simply farm. Finally the Amish’s kinship, due to their strong farming occupation, it is hard to be a young Amish. Amish kids start to learn how to farm and take care of cattle’s when they are very young,
Odel R. Ortega
ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Prof. Corinne Barker
April 01, 2012
Amish Culture The Amish or Anabaptists date back to sixteenth-century Europe were they lived a life of turmoil due to their subsequent believes. The Amish’s primary mode of subsistence known as emerging agriculturalists, a method of cultivating soil, producing crops, raising and hording livestock. Traditional Amish culture revolve around agriculture, farm life is practiced and handed down through ancestry. The farming life style is extremely important to the Amish because not only is it their primary source of subsistence but it is also what it means to be an Amish. By working together in the field, the Amish work as a unit, fostering family and self-reliance, creating a bond among neighbors during harvest time or at a barn-raising. To the Amish barn work is as serious as their beliefs towards religion; they only interrupt barn work for weddings, funerals and other important religious occasions, without inconveniences. Now that I’ve given some background on the Amish I will explain how is it that their strong beliefs in farming affects the Amish life style. There are three aspects I will be referring to, one of them being their beliefs and values. The Amish believed in following the path of Jesus Christ by loving their enemies, forgiving insults and turning the other cheek. This is why the Amish live the life of a farmer, because by doing so, they can be one with nature and god, thus deterring from insignificant acts such as bashing and harassing. The second aspect involved is their particular gender relation example; the typical Amish spouse, will take care of the shores, while the typical Amish man will fix things around the house, barn and or simply farm. Finally the Amish’s kinship, due to their strong farming occupation, it is hard to be a young Amish. Amish kids start to learn how to farm and take care of cattle’s when they are very young,