RELIGION-ARGENTINA: Mennonites Stick To Their Traditions

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 21 1997 (IPS) - Provincial education authorities have come against the die-hard traditions of 200 Mennonite families who are refusing to send their children to public sachools in 1998.

There are some 1,300 Mennonites in Argentina, following a way of life and religion set down in the 16th century. They came from Mexico l2 years ago to take up residence in the central province of Pampas, 200 kilometres from the provincial capital and near the region of Guarache.

They live from cattle-raising, cheese-making, and carpentry while shunning the use of electricity, television, radio, newspapers and automobiles. They use carts and tractors, with wheels that have been changed from rubber to steel. Their kitchens and refrigerators operate on gas or kerosene.

Their only reading material is the German Bible, and their common language is a dialect known as ‘Plattdeutsch’ – a mixture of German and Dutch. They believe that the founder of thje Mennonites, a priest named Simons, spoke this language 500 years ago.

“We fear the advances made in the last century. This is why we live essentially as we did 100 years ago. We know that we are a closed society but we are against comfort,” explained Juan Hinter, one of the members of the community who was interviewed by a visitor in Buenos Aires.

The community’s children attend one of their nine schools, which are located in the nine zones of their settlement. For seven hours daily they learn arthemetic and study German in order to be able to read the bible in this language.

The Director General of Education for the province, Raquel Somovilla, has recognised that although the first task is to evaliuate how much Spanish these children know, she hopes that by the end of the month, authorities will have reached an agreement on enrolling the children in the formal educational system.

Somovilla says the illiteracy rate for the Pampas is low, but that it has been increased by the Mennonites. The provincial governor, Ruben Marin, recognizing the community’s resistance, has given assurances that he will even build a school on their settlements.

The Mennonites, however, do not believe that their children need to gain any more knowledge. “Our children learn reading, writing and mathematics and we provide the country with wood, cheese and grain, in addition to paying taxes,” argued one of the Mennonites.

In an interview with IPS, Mariano Nardosky, an expert in educational multiculturalim, stated that the case of the Mennonites is different from indigenous communitie. The latter do not want to live separately and want to be integrated into the formal educational system – but from their own cultural perspective.

“With the Mennonites, we have a culture that excludes itself. This community has cultural norms that are very different from the dominant culture and instead of demanding that their values be taken into account, they have opted for self-marginalization,” he added.

This same marginalization also applies to health questions. The community only has one physician but he has no recognized title. Anyone seriously ill s taken to the hospital in Guarache but, in recent months as a result of a conflict, change has occurred.

Doctors have accused the Mennonite health worker of bad medical judgement and of practicing without a license. The latter is prohibited from writing prescriptions and delivering children, which should take place in hospitals. Doctors now visit the community once a week, where they attend to sick patients.

According to Nardosky, government supervision of such matters does not harm cultural respect and tolerance.

“We should respect the values of the community, but this community should also accept the values of the national and p;rovincial magna carta “especially when it conmcerns the protetion of children, he stated.

The deeply-religious Mennonites led by Simons, split from the Anabaptists in Holland in the 16th century. They first took refuge in Germany, and then in Russia, Canada and the United States.

In recent years, they have dispersed into small communities in Latin America. The Mennonites living in Argentina came from the state of Chihuahua in Mexico, and there are other similar groups in Bolivia and Paraguay. They know enough Spanish lifestyle is governed by very strict rules of austerity, honesty and the elimination of all vices. Alcohol, cigarettes and drugs are forbidden and rest is only taken onSunday afternoons after mass.

They believe that farming is the most honorable and pure work.

The women of the households sew the family’s clothing and raise the children. Men must be clean-shaven and cannot have long hair. Divorce and birth-control are both non-existent. They do not receive any salary for their work and money earned by the community is saved for the purchase of land and farm machinery.

Mennonite youth are only allowed to have recreation on Sunday afternoons. In general, there are no games, sports or other laytime activities. Life is dedicated to work. Religious hymns in German constituetheir only music, with the exception of an occasional tune left by the odd visitor, curious about the community.

But the greatest resistance to outside forces tion under the control of their own teachers, so that their values will not change for future generations, no matter where they live. (FIN/IPS/mv/dg/pr-cr/cr/mk/97). = 12171543 ORP121