Meeting with the Amish community in the United States
Everyone probably has a very precise picture of communities apart from modernity. An image probably drawn from television series such as "The little house in the meadow" For example, or many reports highlighting some communities such as Amish. Yet the Amish are often assimilated to other communities such as the Mormons, which are in fact completely different.
The Amish community is mainly present in North America, specifically in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. They would represent just over 290,000 people throughout the United States. This community founded in Alsace in 1693 is distinguished by its way of living away from modernization. The first Amish rule, which perfectly describes their way of life, says:
You will not conform to this world around you
The Amish, a community out of time
Electricity, cars and all other forms of modernity are formally prohibited within the community. Despite this pace of life away from modern society, the Amish would be more and more numerous, growth due to a high birth rate, it is not uncommon to count more than 5 children per family.
Although the Amish live in the United States, they have a dialect that is their own. A language similar to German known as German Pennsylvanian. A dialect that looks very much like German Swiss or Alsatian. Within the Amish community, foreigners, in other words the rest of the United States, are called the “English”, with reference to the fact that they do not speak their language.
The Amish stand out very easily thanks to their dark outfits for women and their hats and beards for men. For visitors and foreigners who came to meet the Amish, the great gap between their society and ours is spectacular. One of the great features that shocks the visitor is undoubtedly their means of transport which is neither more nor less than a small cart driven by a horse, called Buggy.
In 2013, Pennsylvania’s amih agreed to be filmed and entrusted to foreigners, at the risk of being excommunicated by their community:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b64QkvLNuWY
The Amish live thanks to their agricultural productions. It also happens that they market their products, often considered healthy as cultivated without GMOs, to "English". Amish craftsmanship is also a real success, known as quality and unique. In many shops, visitors can find handmade blankets, for example and other Amish crafts.
This community is often appreciated by the values it inculcates children from the earliest age. Respect, work and family are very important values for the Amish. As fascinating as can be Southeast Asian ethnic groups , the Amish communities stay away from the world as we know it today and it is probably what attracts visitors.
Just a few hours from New York, in the city of Strasburg in Pennsylvania, it is possible to approach and meet this community, an extraordinary experience and a journey in the fabulous past.
Main photo credit: Flickr – johnny_appleseed1774
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