Book
The Old Order Amish of Lancaster County
Pennsylvania German Society • Lancaster, Penn. • Published In 1961 • Pages: 8, 297
By: Bachman, Calvin George.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document is a systematic overview of the customs and traditions of daily living observed among the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The author first describes Amish origins in the Anabaptist Movement occurring during the Reformation in the 16th century, including the leaders and the significant controversy surrounding 'shunning' or 'avoidance' (the Meidung) that arose between the various sects. The author then details how practical aspects of daily life are managed in accordance with religious ideals. This includes the Amish desire to maintain an agricultural lifestyle despite their rejection of motor vehicles, and their retention of 'plain' demeanor in dress, housing, burials and education. The author observed that the Amish ideal of totally providing for members of their congregations is part of a religious ethic based on their interpretations of biblical passages and which emphasizes a shared social, economic and spiritual community. The Old Order Amish remain committed to the home as the locus of their church services, and for the care of the sick, the orphaned, the indigent, and the elderly. While this commitment distinguishes them from other Amish groups in the area, it cannot be determined from this document what concessions have been made to modernization (other than in agriculture) since the 1940s. Bibliographic references will be found at the bottom of pages in the text.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Religious denominations
- Congregations
- Priesthood
- Organized ceremonial
- General character of religion
- Religious offenses
- History
- Burial practices and funerals
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Amish
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2009
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Delores Walters ; Gerald Reid ; 1987: John Beierle; 2007
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- ca. 1915-1940
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1727-1941
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Calvin George Bachman ; Illustrations by Charles S. Rice
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Amish/Mennonites--Pennsylvania