Figure 1.--The best-known Mennonite group in America and tge strictush is the Amish. Here we see a group of Amish teenagers from Lancaster County on a raining Sunday afternoon..

There are many Mennonite communities around the world today. The most stable are in capitalist North America. Here freedom of relgion, the healthy capitalist economy, and the rule of law have all created the perfect enviorment for these communities to thrive and proper. None are in Europe where the Anabaptists/Mennonites originated. They are some in Latin America and one in Africa. The vomminity in Mexico had to disolve because of the lack of a strong national tradition of the rule of law. The future of the other Latin American communities is unclera. The expanding importance of Protestantism in Latin Americam is a promising sign. Economic and political trends are less certain.

America, Latin

Argentina

One of the newest Mennonite communities is in Argentina, one of the countries with the largest agricultural potential. Agriculture and religious freedoms are the two actors which matter the most to Mennonites. Some 1,000 Mennonites immigrated to Argentina from Mexico and Bolivia (1985). Establishing a new colony--New Hope at La Pampa. One reason they moved is that their isolated colonies were facing the possibility of consanguineous marriages -- meaning marrying blood relatives. The La Pampa colony now numbers 1,500 people. They have about 40 square miles of agricultural land near Guatrache in La Pampa Province. New Hope is a verystruct orthodox Mennonite community. They reject electricity, cars, dancing, and even sports -- in the middle of futbol-mad Argentina. There are many other strict rules in this Anabaptist Christian sect offshoot. They avoid marrying outsidersso as not to bring un people who do not share their ideas and strict Christian beliefs. The men and oys wear the same dungarees and cap. Women and girls wear long old-fashioned dresses and cover their heads. The main difference between dults nd children is that the children commonly go barefoot. The members of the colony speaks to each other in Plautdietsch (Low German). This is what the children are taught in school. They also learn some Spanish so they can do business nd manafe reltions with Argentine authorities and neighbors. A typical housewife explains, "We are aware that there's a world out [there] where people use mobile phones. We respect everyone's culture but we don't want any of this technology." And this is not an easy matter. The housewife here explains that she currently faces her teenage son's desire to obtain a cellphone. [Lahrichi] This is a chllenge that Mennonites have now faced for centuries. And within the Menninite/Amish community, some communities have made greater concessions to modern technology. The New Hope Mennonites systematically reject being incorporated into Argentina and assimilation, like other Mennonite communities. They are part of agricultural settlements that maintain ties across international borders. [Cañás Bottos]

Belize

The Mennoites emerged from Germany during the Protestant Revolution. Seeking a tolerant location where they could practice their religion and separtist life-style, the Mennoites migrated to Canada (Manitoba) and the United States (Pennsylvamia). It was a small group of these North American Mennonites that reached Belize in 1959. There they became a poorly understood and rather conspicuous part of the Belizian population. The Mennonites in Brelize continue to remain apart, perpetuating their culture and reigion. About 3,000 Mennonites came to Belize and settled along the River Hondo. Here they found a location offering religious toleration persecution and away from the hustle and bustle of modern society. The British colonial government agreed to a special arrangement which exempted the Mennoite Community from military service as well as certain forms of taxation. They were the key components that eventually drove the Mennoites from Europe. The Government also guranteed complete freedom religious feedom and the right to farm within a closed community. The Mennonites today have their own local government and maintain their own separate schools, banks, and businesses. The first Belizian Mennonites purchased large uninhabited tracts of land and created settlements at Corozal, Orange Walk, and Cayo districts.

Bolivia

Bolivia has a substantial Mennonites community. Apparently the the first Mennonites went to Bolivia ahen the the Government offered them the land in the Lowlands north an east of the Andes (1950s). At the time this was virgin territiry. Most Boliviansived in the Andean Highlands. I flew over the area from Brazil and it was like an ocean with virtually no population or roads, like flying over the sea (1960s). The Bolivian Government presumably saw the Mennoites as helpful in pursuing a primary national goal, settling the Lowlands. The Mennonite colonies are in the eastern Lowlands around Santa Criz. The South and Central American colonies are attractive because there is less pressure from the wider population to draw away the the young people than in the United states qnd Canada. One source estiamtes that there are some 50,000 Memmonites living there. Most of the colonies were founded by Mennonites from Canada. They are like other Mennonite colonies reclusive, especially the ultra-conservative 'old colonies'. They live in a world of horse-drawn carriages. Many cultivate sorghum. They live largely separated from the Bolivian population. There are no cars and electrical appliances, including television. They do not allow music and sports. Women's lives in particular are circumscribed. The children do not attend school after 12 years of age. Many of the men learn Spanish, but the women who less commonly leave home, rarely do so. They wear very stabndaized clothing, almost like a uniform. The women and girls wear plain,hand-sewn dresses. Boys and men wear store brought clothing as thet are more complicated to sew. The Mennonites raise large families. They occassionaly come into Santa Cruz, the main city in the central Lowlands, to buy needed supplies, but never travel beyond there.

Mexico

A small group of Canadian Mennonites established two >Mexican colonies during the 1920s. A small minority group is the Mennonites in Chihuahua. The Mexicam Mennonites date from the 1920s an came from Canada. Canadian Mennonites between 1922-26 moved to Mexico. About 6,000 Mennonites came from Old Colony. Another 500 came from Sommerfelder. They moved to the San Antonio valley, about 500 km south of El Paso, Texas. A second Meican Mennonite community was founded in In 1924 further south than the first settlement.

Paraguay

European and American Protesrant groups have supported missionary goups in Paraguay. Paraguay also has a small, but active Mennoite community. For many years the Mennoites were the largest Protestant hroip in the country. We are not sure if this is still the case. The Mennonites are somewhat different than Protestant missionaries, although there are differences between two separate Mennonite groups. The missionaries are interested in converting Paraguayans--primarily Narive Americans. The first Mennonite group was primarily interested in finding a place in which they can organize and pursue their religion and communal lifestyle. The Mennonited founded the Evangelical Mennonite Chutch in Paraguay (1921). Another Mennonite group founded a second community--the Mennonite Bretheren (1930). The Bretheren have actively evangelized among Paraguayns, especially Native Americans. One report estimates thar nearly 90 percent of the Bretheren are Lengua, Chulupi, or Guarani. Smaller Mennoite groups have subsequently organized in Paraguay. One source estimated that their are 135 Mennonite congregations with 62,000 members. [Fahlbusch and Bromiley] The largest Mennnonite communities were founded in the Chacao of western Paraguay: Menno, Fernheim. Filadelphia, Neuland, sommerfeld, and Bergtal in the Chacao. Notice the German names. Recent Mennonite immigrants from Mexico and the United States since the 1960s have founded communities in eastern Paraguay. Overall most of the Mennonites are ethnically German and speak German. The communinities have founded their own scgools. They have also founded hospitals which serve not only their own communities as well as their own communities. The Mennonites have founded agricultural comminities with a heavy emphasis on dairy farming. As a result of their religious beliefs, the Paraguayan government has exempled them from mililitary conscription.

America, North

America

Religious persecution in Europe drove the Mennonites to America, This was essentially the same process that earlier brought the Puritans to America. America at the time was not a utopia of religious toleration. But on the frontier, religious orthodoxy was difficult to enforce and civil authority was weak. And the new colony of Pennsylvania ws fonded by a Quaker and was where the idea of religious toleration began to develop. The Mennonites settled areas of eastern Pennsylvania. One in America, the New World the Mennonites branched into several factions. The (Old) Mennonite Church is the parent group and continues to be the largest group. Smaller groups include the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Brethren Church. The first Pennsylvania colony was at Germantown (1683). The best known Memmonite group in America is the Amish. The Amish are one of the Mennite groups in Pennsylvania. The Amish are a religious group who live in settlements in 22 states and Ontario, Canada. The oldest group of Old Order Amish, about 16-18,000 people live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Amish stress humility, family and community, and separation from the world. Other Mennite colonies were established in Ohio and other mid-Western states. The Amish Church, named for Jacob Ammann, a 17th century Swiss Mennonite bishop, remains particularly insular and conservative. The Old Order Amish reject much, but not all of modern technology in both their personal lives and farming. They wear plain ans what are nmow seen as old fashioned clothing which use hooks and eyes as dastners instead of more modern buttons. They worship in private homes. They at sirst spoke German, but bow speak a kind of German-English amalgam which curiously is called Pennsylvania Dutch. (This is a coruption of the German word Deutsch.) The Mennonite churches every 6 years at the Mennonite World Conference. Most American Mennonites are found primarily in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Kansas. There are also substantial numbers of Mennonites also live in Canada.

Canada

Mennonite came to Canadac primarily from two places, Switzerland (via Pennsylvania) and Russia. Because of repression in Switzerland and Germany sought refuge in places safer places. Some went to America where the idea of religious freedom was growing. Swiss Mennonites did not migrante to Canada while it was under French control because of French repression of Protestants. The British seizure of Canada in thge French and Indian War (1756-63) changed the situation. Swiss Mennonites established communities in Pennsylvania, a colony where the idea of religious freedom was implanted at an early point by Quaker Willianm Penn. The Mennites first arrived in Pennsylvania (1683). As they spoke German theu were not identified locally as Swisw, but vthe Pennsyvania Dutch. (Deutsch mean Germany was confused by English speaking Americans with the Dutch.) Later at about the time as other groups of Mennonites began settling in Russia, some of the Swiss Mennonites began moving from Pennsylvania to "Upper Canada" (modern Ontario). The Mennonites were attracted to Canada, by large expanses of inexpensive land. Some were also attracted by British rule. (Here we are not entirely sure what the afvabtages of British rule was. Perhaps our Canadian readers can provide some insight. ) Presumably the cultural autonomy conferred on French Canadians may have been a factor. The first Swiss Mennonite families departed Pennsylvania after the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and the achievement of independence. The first few families were followed by more Mennonites draw by letters from the first famikies. The Mennonites call the migration the 'Trail of the Conestoga'. Like Americans moving west, they traveled north in covered wagons (1785-1825). They settled in Niagara Peninsula and along the Grand River of what is now Ontario. Many established farms in Waterloo County. Benjamin Eby founded Ebytown, now called by the more British-sounding Kitchener (1807). About 2,000 Mennonites made the trek, most from Pennsylvania. Some Amish families in Pennsylvania followed the Mennonites to Ontario. Mennoites also established colonies in western Canada (Manitoba). As Russian policies changed toward the Folksdeutsche in the 19th century toward an effort at Russification, some Mennonites moved to Canada. Large numbers who remained in Russia were subsequently killed ordied in deploable condition when Stalin during World War II exiled the Folksdeutsche from their Volga farms to Siberia (1941).

East Africa

Elam and Elizabeth Stauffer and John and Ruth Moseman were commissioned by the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (EMBMC) to establish the first Mennonite mission station in East Africa. The firt church was located in Shirati, Tanzania about 13 kilometers from the Kenyan border. Zedekiah Kisare, a young Tanzanian Christian, interpreted for the missionaries who did not speak local languages. The fifth mission station was opened in Nyabasi, Tanzania, again near the Kenyan border (1940). The missionaries sought to avoid establishing large institutions, but instead to offer basic education and healthcare. The preaching of an African evangelist at the Mugango mission station started a revival which spreads to many other locations. The African Mennoites are convinced that their plain Christian lives have helped them spread the Gospel. Chief Wilson Ogwada, a retired chief living Migore, Kenya, says the revival caused him to leave Shirati, Tanzania, and travel throughout Kenya with another believer, Nikanor Dhaje, preaching (1942). This revival created a new understanding and relationship between Africans and missionaries. The Mennonites in Africa have pursued this evangelical mission rather than setting up agricultural colonies isolated from the local popultion as they have done in Latin America. The Kenya Mennonite Church is a Mennonite conference in Kenya. They are associated with Mennonite World Conference. The KMT in 2006 had 11,800 members in 140 congregations.

Sources

Cañás Bottos, Lorenzo. Old Colony Mennonites in Argentina and Bolivia: Nation Making, Religious Conflict and Imagination of the Future (Brill: 2008).

Lahrichi, Kamilia. "This tiny colony in Argentina doesn't believe in Spanish, tango, or soccer," Globlpost (June 9, 2015).

Schrag, Martin. "The European History of the Swiss Mennonites," Volhynia (1956).

Stueck, Rudi. E-mail message (March 7, 2015).

Created: 1:25 AM 5/25/2020
Last updated: 3:46 PM 5/11/2021