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A. An Age-Old Thriving Community
Compréhension Orale | Who Are The Amish People of America ?
The United States of America is filled with endless diversity. People of all colours, religions, ethnicities and cultures come together in one giant landmass and the centre of this diversity is the Amish, a group of people who follow a traditional Christian Church derived from Swiss Germany.
[...] Lancaster County Pennsylvania is the centre of the Amish people [who] live here. [...] I cannot show their faces up close because they don't want to be filmed so I'm going to respect them, I'm going to respect their religion–I'm going to interview other people who know about Amish and I'm really excited to show you guys how they live and teach you about this really fascinating culture that lives inside of America in the U.S. About 15 percent of the 300 000 Amish settlers live right here in Lancaster County Pennsylvania and they are known primarily for three things; simple living, plain dressing and avoidance of modern technologies. They don't connect to our electricity–it doesn't mean they can't generate their own with solar or wind power or even a diesel generator for business. They don't drive automobiles if they have a business that requires a truck or riding lawn mowers they can certainly lease a truck that they would have to have a non-amish to to drive the truck.
The Amish migrated to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century and are still living an identical life to centuries ago; they get around by horses, they are prohibited to use smartphones TVs and cars. Their language today is a dialect of German called Pennsylvania Deutsch–it's a dialect from the Swiss German that they've brought with them [...] Higher education is generally discouraged as it could lead to social segregation and the unraveling of the community. How many kids does the typical family have? Right now the average is right around eight and a half in Lancaster County [...] They're mostly not farmers, only about 30 percent are in farming the rest are in trades like home building roofing, contracting, barn building, shop owners. They have their own schools, they value a rural life, manual labour and living under God's word. And if they fail to comply they are shunned. [...] The Amish are very private people who avoid as much contact with strangers and the outside world as possible for important religious and cultural reasons [...].
Historical Backdrop
The Amish are descendants of the Anabaptists, who broke with the Protestants during the Reformation in the 16th century. Anabaptism is a reformist movement which advocates that baptism should be decided as an adult not something that should be decided for a person when they're an infant. A grown-up freely confesses their faith in Christ and requests to be baptised–such a belief was totally dissimilar to the State Church at that time. Furthermore, Anabaptists were in favour of non-resistance. But for the Church , non-resistance was seen as a threat because if Anabaptists were involved in an armed struggle, they wouldn’t fight. For the State, their moral belief could destabilise the country. Consequently, they were usually persecuted, and some of them were even burnt to the stake. Anabaptists were preyed upon by Anabaptist Hunters who sowed terror amongst the community. Marginalsed and denied the right to own land, they lived in remote mountainous areas. Later, the Amish Church was founded in 1693 by Jakob Amman in Alsace, France. The name ‘Amish’ comes from the creator of the Church Jakob Amman. They were mostly known for their conservative beliefs. But, because of the systemic persecution, a majority of Amish people immigrated to Pennsylvania in the New World, now known as the United-States. Having a reputation of fruitful farmers, William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, offered them lands in his colony and assured them religious freedom and in exchange, the Amish would cultivate the land to provide food and feed the newly arrived settlers.
The biggest Amish community is settled in Pennsylvania–about 15 percent of the 300,000 Amish people living in the US are in this state.
The Amish population has been on the rise since 1992. It is the fastest-growing faith group in America with predictions that there might be more than once million adherents by 2050. On average, an Amish household gives birth to eight children.
A unique and Independent Lifestyle
The Amish lifestyle is unlike anything one could think of, especially in a society driven by unremitting modernity. For a non-Amish, their lifestyle could be characterised as old-fashioned, as if they belonged to another country. Men are dressed in simple black suits made of homespun cloth and broad-rimmed hats. You won't find a single moustache among them though; these are strictly forbidden by the Amish, for they are considered to be reminders of the military, who persecuted them in Germany, Switzerland and Alsace three centuries ago, before they fled to America. Women wear ankle-length dresses and small, white bonnets. They get around by horse-drawn carriages known as buggies. An entire range of modern-day conveniences are forbidden by the Amish because they are not mentioned in the Bible: television, radio, motorised cars and electricity (their refrigerators are gas-powered, their homes are heated by coal or wood-burning stoves). However, recently a concession was made for telephones, although they are hidden in wooden boxes along the roadside and are used only to contact the veterinarian.
Isolation From The Outside World
The Amish are an intensely private and independent sect whose entire existence is based upon the teachings of the Bible. They believe in one main principle: “you shall not be part of this world”. They hardly leave their community, and marry among themselves (interbreeding). Stubbornly refusing any government aid, they truly believe in mutual assistance in which all members of the community take care of the old and needy.Their school system, too, is designed to guarantee the survival of their traditions by isolating them from the influences of the outside world. The Amish run their own schools up to primary level, with all ages grouped into one class. Children study the High German dialect of their ancestors, which is the language spoken at home today, and English, which they will need later on when negotiating as farmers. The community's elders consider that education beyond the primary level should be supplied through the home and religion, which is (like the rule against driving cars) an effective way of avoiding the breakup of their sect. Perhaps such extreme measures are the only way to fight off the invasion of American society. Since the 1985 film Witness, the Amish have become an even greater object of curiosity. The five million or so visitors who descend on their villages each year sometimes forget that these are a fiercely private people, acting like brazen voyeurs. They have a peeping-Tom relationship with tourists.
B. Living or Leaving the Amish Life
Rumspringa
What is Rumspringa? Rumspringa is the term used to describe the period of adolescence Amish young people go through starting at age 16. (2) It is usually defined by dictionaries as “a rite of passage during adolescence which normally begins around the age of 14 to 16 and ends when a youth chooses baptism within the Amish church, or instead leaves the community.” (Wikipedia). However, this definition varies according to the families and the communities. Like in every other culture, everything depends on the degree of freedom given to teenagers by parents. (1)
Unlike what is depicted in pop-culture movies–the excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol–Amish teenagers keep strong ties with the community during Rumspringa, even if they tend to slacken a few rules. The most striking example of this gross and wild exaggeration of Rumspringa – perhaps mere theatrics - is the reality TV show called Breaking Amish. This series revolves around a bunch of Amish teenagers that are sent to big cities like London to experience their Rumspringa. They are usually shown in parties with other teenagers the same age breaking from the traditional and demanding Amish way of life. (1)
Rumspringa is not a time of experimentation and decision-making either for Amish teenagers, because they often make up their mind before Rumpsinga. Instead, it is the opportunity to have a more formalised socialisation. Rather than an angst-filled period of existential choice, it is primarily “a time to find a marriage partner”. Neither do Amish parents encourage their youth to leave home and experiment with sinful behaviours—nor do they condone it. At the same time, there must be at least a semblance of free choice in the decision to become Amish. (2)
Adapted from llceranglais.fr (1) & amishamerica.com (2)
Compréhension de l’écrit | Leaving my Amish world
Q1. How did the narrator feel after leaving her Amish community? Why?
Q2. What memories of her childhood does that conjure up?
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