Introduction
In anthropology, culture refers to the various patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share. Usually, a people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, dressing style, modes of subsistence, eating habits, religion, as well as political and economic systems (Bonta, 1993). To study, describe or even understand the behaviors of a certain community, the significance and applicability of culture cannot be exaggerated since in a more general term, culture constitutes a community’s “way of life”. Moreover, culture comprises both the learned as well as the collective system of view points, morals, values, thoughts, rules and regulations that have an impact on the conduct and organization of a community (Rival, 2002). Therefore, various facets of a community’s culture have a lasting impact (direct or otherwise) on a wide range of matters as well as other aspects of culture in a communal setting. This paper seeks to indentify and classify the primary modes of subsistence of the Amish community as well as analyze and evaluate the impact that their primary mode of subsistence has had on their beliefs and values, economic organization, social change and gender relations.
Discussion
The Amish culture constitutes of North American Christian group of Mennonite origin and they are sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites. The name Amish is derived from Jakob Amman, a Swiss Mennonite Bishop (Weaver, 2001). The Amish Mennonite has its origin in the 16th Century and descends from the great fellowship known as the Swiss Brethren. Bradley (2010) says that today the Amish form one of the most distinctive and unique cultural community across the spectrum of the American cultural multiplicity. The Amish have maintained a distinctive and conservative agricultural way of life despite the influences of modern industrial society and they are best known for their plain dressing and reluctance to adopt the many aspect of modernity such as technology and education. The most conservative are known as Old Order Amish and they dress in a severely plain style, using hooks instead of buttons to fasten their clothes. They ride in horse-drawn buggies instead of automobiles, and the adult males wear beards (Bradley, 2010). Owing to a variety of reasons such as political stability and religious freedom, many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to North America in the early 18th Century. In terms of language, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German which is also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. However, among the old older Amish communities especially in the American State of Indiana, a dialect of Swiss German predominates while in other communities various dialects of the English language are spoken (Weaver, 2001).
Ever since the European persecution pushed the Amish communities to the rural areas, their lives have been rooted in the soil (Weaver, 2001). With an exception of a few cases, nearly all Amish communities are farmers. The few cases mentioned here arise due to the pressures of urbanization which has forced a small section of the Amish communities to shift to nonfarm occupations. Farming has been termed as the most common socio-economic organization for most recorded human history and the Amish society is no exception. The Amish culture is with no doubt an Agrarian state mainly involved in the cultivation of vegetables, grains and tobacco. As stated by Bradley (2010), farming has for a long time and still continues to nurture the common life of the Amish community and provide for their subsistence. Although they do recognize other means of livelihood and other work practices, they mainly stress on the importance of farming and agriculture. Moreover, while they adapt Agrarian farming, most of their farming products are meant for subsistence use but due to economic demands, these products have found their way into the business world. Farming therefore constitutes the main approach in which the Amish provide for their families.
In medieval Europe, the nature of the Amish society was based on the labors of the poor peasant. The toils and gains of the peasants enabled the monarchies and duchies of the continent to gain vast amount of wealth and establish colonies overseas. However, this has changed in the present society and mainly members of the community engage in farming for their subsistence and other economic needs. Farming as a primary mode of subsistence among the Amish community has some direct and indirect lasting implications on other aspects of their culture such as their beliefs and values, economic organization, social change and gender relations.
A striking aspect of culture that has been affected by the Amish mode of subsistence is their beliefs and values. Traditions, customs and beliefs are mainly informed by a people’s way of life. Among the Amish, farming is believed to be a noble occupation that is consistent with God’s will for man to take care of the environment. A number of beliefs and customs surround the farming practices among the Amish community. Some farming practices are termed as taboo while others are accepted and practiced. For instance, Mechanical hay balers, widely used in some areas, are prohibited in others since they are viewed as a taboo and an instrument of laziness which the Christian doctrine teaches against.
Farming has also impacted on the way the Amish societies view and treat their environment and surrounding. For example, the belief that the soil is their provider and primary source of livelihood has made them sensitive to environmental pollution. Thus, many Amish societies shun the use of pesticides and fertilizers in their farms since they hold the belief that the use of such chemicals would result to soil destruction and hence low yields. Through farming, the Amish societies believe that they can create and maintain a self-sustaining society where all needs are fulfilled within the community. Also, the secluded nature of the farming practice has limited their interactions with outside communities. This has enabled them to create social barriers hence their success in retaining their beliefs of simplicity, humility and obedience which are viewed as the pillars of the Amish religious doctrine. Therefore, farming as the primary mode of subsistence among the Amish culture has shaped and informed a number of their beliefs and values.
In addition to their beliefs and values, the economic organization among the Amish culture is also affected by their primary mode of subsistence; farming. As noted earlier, the Amish largely depend on farming for their providence and as a source of income for other financial needs. In some communities, nearly all men engage in farming as their only economic activity. Apart from providing food for the family, surplus produce is traded to generate money for other financial needs. However, a small section of the society works in cottage industries and small shops. Members of the community among the Amish usually engage in trade using farm and animal produce. These goods are exchanged either for money or for other industrial manufacture goods. The modes of transport among the Amish community take the form of donkey-drawn Amish buggies (Kraybill, 2000). Due to the taboo on high school and college education, professional workers such as doctors, lawyers and doctors are unheard of among the Amish societies. Consequently, this has reinforced their attachment with farming and cultivation. The shrinking and expensive farmland coupled with increased population growth among the Amish communities has caused a demographic squeeze and this has resulted into an economic crisis and a shift to alternative economic activities. However, farming still remains the major economic activity among the Amish societies and this has a lot of influence on their economic organization in terms of food production, transport, trading, occupational choices as well as industrialization.
Since time immemorial, the primary mode of subsistence in a society has served as a guiding framework for assigning gender roles for different members of the community. Men and women assume different roles in the process of providing for the members of a society. Although these roles are not imposed or forced on any member of the society, they are clearly mapped out and as one is initiated into adulthood, he or she assumes the appropriate role naturally due to the prevailing customs and culture. Among the Amish societies, men are generally charged with most of the farm work (Bradley, 2010). Maybe, this is due to their towering physical attributes when compared to women and thus women are charged with other simpler roles. For instance, school teachers in this society are usually women. Nevertheless, women occasionally help in less demanding farm chores such as planting and gathering grains or setting of the barn. Generally, Amish is a patriarchal society and thus the man assumes the role of managing and planning the farming activities (Bonta, 1993). Despite the fact that the husband and wife serve distinct domestic roles, many tasks are shared. For instance, whereas it is normal for a wife to ask the husband to assist in the garden, the husband may also request the wife to help in the fields and therefore the isolated housewife is a rare phenomenon in this society. Thus, farming as a mode of subsistence has unconsciously assigned gender roles in the Amish culture.
Rival (2002) observes that in terms of social change, the Amish mode of subsistence has had a far reaching impact that has enabled this society to shield itself from the vicious waves of social change sweeping throughout the world. According to Kraybill (2000), in the modern world, the Amish culture has felt pressure in various spheres of their lives. Issues such as taxation, law and its enforcement, education and discrimination continue to threaten the stability and peaceful existence of this society. Farming has favored and promoted the social architecture of the Amish since social activities such as leisure, play, worship and friendship revolve around the immediate neighborhood. In such a case, they clearly do not need modern means of transport and communication which are mainly used for purposes of keeping in touch with people across long distances. In addition, farming requires little education and this seems to suggest why the Amish are disinterested with education beyond the eighth grade. Thus, farming as a primary mode of subsistence can be viewed as a major contributing factor to their ability to resist acculturation and assimilation into the surrounding dominant cultures. The self-sustenance aspect of this mode of subsistence coupled with its minimized mobility requirement has enabled this culture to create a social fence that has cushioned them against rapid social change (Bradley, 2010).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is crucial to note that farming as a primary mode of subsistence for the Amish has existed for a long time and has been able to resist pressure from the modern society over the centuries. However, the future existence and relevance of this mode of subsistence for the Amish escapes prediction. The critical implications that this mode of subsistence has on other aspects of this culture such as their beliefs and values, economic organization, gender relations and social change fails to guarantee its survival and efficacy in the future. The particular outcome in this case will be shaped by a number of unforeseen forces such as the rate of urbanization, market prices, government policies as well as internal sentiments among the Amish culture. Nevertheless, the survival of the Amish mode of subsistence may elude forecast, but one outcome stands clear; with the increasing pressure and interference from the outside world coupled with the impact that this has on their culture in general, the Amish will have to look for an alternative or supplementing mode of subsistence as we move into the future.
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