Mennonites in Belize
This month I joined a study team from Germany, organized by my uncle Peter, to visit Mennonite settlements in Belize.
Mennonites are an early protestant faith group which, through endogamy, became an ethnic group with its own language.
There are many different kinds of Mennonite colonies - Some are as small as 25 families, some as large as 3,000 people. Some have no electricity and drive horse-and-buggy. Others have cars and flushing toilets. Some colonies have strict dress codes, others more lax. But they all have one thing in common: They all speak Plautdietsch.
There were 3 basic types of Mennonite colonies:
TRADITIONAL. They have no electricity and drive horse-and-buggy, but don’t look Amish. The men shave, wear overalls and cowboy hats. The women wear dark dresses and head scarves. Tractors are allowed so long as they do not have rubber wheels.
Traditional colonies are the largest type in Belize - some with 3,000 people.
AMISH-LIKE. They call themselves Mennonites and speak Plautdietsch, but look Amish. They don't like cameras.
PROGRESSIVE. They have cars, cell phones, and flushing toilets. The women wear head coverings and bright dresses with flowery print. (Except in Blue Creek, where the people are totally modern.)
Even the industrialized colonies have no toys, and their kids play endlessly outside.
BELIZE TRIP DAY 5
Maria, Erwin, Heinrich, Pavel* and I separated from the group today. We borrowed a pickup truck and went out in search of people for the film project.
We drove to an ultra-conservative colony and showed up uninvited at Peter Penner's house. At first he was suspicious of us, but after talking for a while in Plautdietsch, and after we promised not to use our cameras, he allowed us into his home...
On our way back to our host colony, Pavel was craving a beer and when we stopped at the liquor store, the others each got one too. (Must be a German thing.) By the time we got back, it was late and our host families were expecting us. But we now had the sudden dilemma of what to do with the beer bottles. We couldn't leave them in the car, since it was borrowed from a Mennonite.
So Pavel just threw them on the side of the road! In Mennonite territory!
BELIZE TRIP DAY 6
The 5 of us went to Belmopan today, where we interviewed a man who stepped out of the colony and married a Mayan woman.
Later at the market, we met Florian, a young man from Germany who has been living with the Mennonites for a year now. He hopped in the car with us, and showed us the way to a remote settlement called Springfield, where the people look Amish.
We stopped at a mill, and looked around. I felt awkward, like we were snooping around on someones property. A young man driving by on his horse-and-buggy saw us and stopped. He introduced himself as "Doft Hoada" [David Harder] and offered to show us around.
Jungle hike by night. After some time with David, some teenage boys led us on a jungle hike. They were shy, but cute too. One of them was showing off, and climbed a tree about 60 feet high! It became dark, and we didn't have flashlights, but the boys had brought kerosene lamps.
When we came out of the thick of the jungle,
and into the clearing, there was a crowd of Mennonites waiting for us, eager to meet us. Word had spread that we were there - "Germans from Russia." (When they say "German" they mean Plautdietsch. And I don't think they know that most Mennonites emigrated out of Russia and back to Germany decades ago. They're a little behind on their history.)
We had so many dinner invitations, but ended up going to David's brother-in-law's. The house was packed with neighbors and relatives, all wanting to see us; the children outside stared at us through the windows.
I had changed out of my skirt for the hike, but even in my jeans I felt more than accepted. The adults were eager to get into deep conversation with us, especially about spiritual topics. It was getting late and they kept asking up to stay the night. I have never felt so welcomed.
I really wanted to spend the night - it would've been so fun! But our host colony was waiting for us, and we were planning to leave for Guatemala early morning. Florian wants to come with us...
On our way home, everyone except Florian and I got beers, which were tossed out the window again. Alas, what will Florian think of us?
Again it was past midnight by the time we got back to our host families. As Heinrich pulled the car into the driveway, I asked if they know Florian is spending the night. "No," he answered. "They don't know yet of their good luck."
BELIZE TRIP DAY 12
(back row) Jakob Esau, Abe, Heinrich Esau, Viktor Sawatzki (front row) Maria Sawatzki, me, Jakob, Lena
Today we visited the Mayan ruins in Lamanai. Abe Rempel came with us. He lives in a very progressive colony, in which the people are totally modern.
Me, Abe Rempel, and Erwin. Erwin is the second-youngest of 12 kids, and he too was surprised that the Mennonites in Belize don't know how many siblings they have.
BELIZE TRIP DAY 13
We spent the night at a field station in the middle of the jungle. As I fell asleep last night, I could hear the howler monkeys - an eerie sound. Last week we were staying with a Mennonite family, and they gave Maria and me a bed to share. So it's nice now, to have my own bed.
This place is very simple and all-wooden. I've already told several people that this is where I want my honeymoon one day!
*Forty people came from Germany for this trip. Here are some of them:
Maria - linguistics teacher, doing her dissertation on Plautdietsch
Erwin – the son-of-the-man-who-translated-the-Bible-into-Plautdietsch
Heinrich – linguist and member of the Bundesrat für Niederdeutsch (German Federal Council for Low German), doing a film project on Mennonites
Pavel – cameraman and partner in the film project
Jakob & Heinrich Esau - inseparable brothers, full of humor
Uncle Peter
Mennonites are an early protestant faith group which, through endogamy, became an ethnic group with its own language.
There are many different kinds of Mennonite colonies - Some are as small as 25 families, some as large as 3,000 people. Some have no electricity and drive horse-and-buggy. Others have cars and flushing toilets. Some colonies have strict dress codes, others more lax. But they all have one thing in common: They all speak Plautdietsch.
There were 3 basic types of Mennonite colonies:
TRADITIONAL. They have no electricity and drive horse-and-buggy, but don’t look Amish. The men shave, wear overalls and cowboy hats. The women wear dark dresses and head scarves. Tractors are allowed so long as they do not have rubber wheels.
Traditional colonies are the largest type in Belize - some with 3,000 people.
AMISH-LIKE. They call themselves Mennonites and speak Plautdietsch, but look Amish. They don't like cameras.
PROGRESSIVE. They have cars, cell phones, and flushing toilets. The women wear head coverings and bright dresses with flowery print. (Except in Blue Creek, where the people are totally modern.)
Even the industrialized colonies have no toys, and their kids play endlessly outside.
JOURNAL EXCERPTS FROM MY TRIP
BELIZE TRIP DAY 5
Maria, Erwin, Heinrich, Pavel* and I separated from the group today. We borrowed a pickup truck and went out in search of people for the film project.
We drove to an ultra-conservative colony and showed up uninvited at Peter Penner's house. At first he was suspicious of us, but after talking for a while in Plautdietsch, and after we promised not to use our cameras, he allowed us into his home...On our way back to our host colony, Pavel was craving a beer and when we stopped at the liquor store, the others each got one too. (Must be a German thing.) By the time we got back, it was late and our host families were expecting us. But we now had the sudden dilemma of what to do with the beer bottles. We couldn't leave them in the car, since it was borrowed from a Mennonite.
So Pavel just threw them on the side of the road! In Mennonite territory!
BELIZE TRIP DAY 6The 5 of us went to Belmopan today, where we interviewed a man who stepped out of the colony and married a Mayan woman.
Later at the market, we met Florian, a young man from Germany who has been living with the Mennonites for a year now. He hopped in the car with us, and showed us the way to a remote settlement called Springfield, where the people look Amish.
We stopped at a mill, and looked around. I felt awkward, like we were snooping around on someones property. A young man driving by on his horse-and-buggy saw us and stopped. He introduced himself as "Doft Hoada" [David Harder] and offered to show us around.
Jungle hike by night. After some time with David, some teenage boys led us on a jungle hike. They were shy, but cute too. One of them was showing off, and climbed a tree about 60 feet high! It became dark, and we didn't have flashlights, but the boys had brought kerosene lamps.
When we came out of the thick of the jungle,
and into the clearing, there was a crowd of Mennonites waiting for us, eager to meet us. Word had spread that we were there - "Germans from Russia." (When they say "German" they mean Plautdietsch. And I don't think they know that most Mennonites emigrated out of Russia and back to Germany decades ago. They're a little behind on their history.)
We had so many dinner invitations, but ended up going to David's brother-in-law's. The house was packed with neighbors and relatives, all wanting to see us; the children outside stared at us through the windows.
I had changed out of my skirt for the hike, but even in my jeans I felt more than accepted. The adults were eager to get into deep conversation with us, especially about spiritual topics. It was getting late and they kept asking up to stay the night. I have never felt so welcomed.
I really wanted to spend the night - it would've been so fun! But our host colony was waiting for us, and we were planning to leave for Guatemala early morning. Florian wants to come with us...
On our way home, everyone except Florian and I got beers, which were tossed out the window again. Alas, what will Florian think of us?
Again it was past midnight by the time we got back to our host families. As Heinrich pulled the car into the driveway, I asked if they know Florian is spending the night. "No," he answered. "They don't know yet of their good luck."
BELIZE TRIP DAY 12
(back row) Jakob Esau, Abe, Heinrich Esau, Viktor Sawatzki (front row) Maria Sawatzki, me, Jakob, Lena
Today we visited the Mayan ruins in Lamanai. Abe Rempel came with us. He lives in a very progressive colony, in which the people are totally modern.
Me, Abe Rempel, and Erwin. Erwin is the second-youngest of 12 kids, and he too was surprised that the Mennonites in Belize don't know how many siblings they have.
BELIZE TRIP DAY 13
We spent the night at a field station in the middle of the jungle. As I fell asleep last night, I could hear the howler monkeys - an eerie sound. Last week we were staying with a Mennonite family, and they gave Maria and me a bed to share. So it's nice now, to have my own bed.
This place is very simple and all-wooden. I've already told several people that this is where I want my honeymoon one day!
*Forty people came from Germany for this trip. Here are some of them:
Maria - linguistics teacher, doing her dissertation on Plautdietsch
Erwin – the son-of-the-man-who-translated-the-Bible-into-Plautdietsch
Heinrich – linguist and member of the Bundesrat für Niederdeutsch (German Federal Council for Low German), doing a film project on Mennonites
Pavel – cameraman and partner in the film project
Jakob & Heinrich Esau - inseparable brothers, full of humor
posted by Natalie at 10:12 AM
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