• Latest
  • Trending
Mennonites use horse-drawn carriage for transportation in the age of cars

Mexico’s Mennonite community sees electricity as sin

October 15, 2018
appointments:-enugu-north-unfairly-treated-–-buhari-movement

Appointments: Enugu North unfairly treated – Buhari Movement

July 13, 2020
federal-legislator-advocates-cancellation-of-annual-recess-over-critical-bills

Federal legislator advocates cancellation of annual recess over critical bills

July 13, 2020
covid-19:-bill-gates-is-linked-to-666-–-pastor-chris-okotie-reveals-satan’s-plans

COVID-19: Bill Gates is linked to 666 – Pastor Chris Okotie reveals Satan’s plans

July 13, 2020
ogun-nnpp-fires-abiodun-as-bridge-collapses-less-than-one-year-after-construction

NNPP fires Abiodun as bridge collapses less than one year after construction

July 13, 2020
efcc:-magu-worked-for-osinbajo,-tinubu,-they-are-his-godfathers-–-fani-kayode

EFCC: Magu worked for Osinbajo, Tinubu, they are his godfathers – Fani-Kayode

July 13, 2020
covid-19:-ncdc-announces-discharge-of-13,447-patients,-571-new-cases

COVID-19: NCDC announces discharge of 13,447 patients, 571 new cases

July 13, 2020
magu:-buhari,-apc-against-corruption-–-spokesman,-nabena

Magu: Buhari, APC against corruption – Yekini Nabena

July 13, 2020
malami-breaks-silence-on-approving-auctioning-of-seized-oil-vessels

Malami breaks silence on approving auctioning of seized oil vessels

July 12, 2020
nigerian-troops-kill-scores-of-bandits,-rescue-kidnapped-victims-in-sokoto,-zamfara

Nigerian troops kill scores of bandits, rescue kidnapped victims in Sokoto, Zamfara

July 12, 2020
kwara-deputy-governor’s-staff-contract-covid-19

Kwara Deputy Governor’s staff contract COVID-19

July 12, 2020
how-nigerian-govt,-states,-lgs-shared-n7.8-trn-in-2019-[breakdown]

How Nigerian govt, States, LGs shared N7.8 trn in 2019

July 12, 2020
covid-19:-guidelines-for-school-reopening-in-akwa-ibom-unrealistic,-tough-–-proprietors

COVID-19: Guidelines for school reopening in Akwa Ibom unrealistic, tough – Proprietors

July 12, 2020
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Nigerian News
  • Home
  • News
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Security
No Result
View All Result
Nigerian News
  • Home
  • News
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Security
No Result
View All Result
Nigerian News
No Result
View All Result

Mexico’s Mennonite community sees electricity as sin

by Olalere Abolore
October 15, 2018
0
Mennonites use horse-drawn carriage for transportation in the age of cars

Mennonites use horse-drawn carriage for transportation in the age of cars

791
SHARES
6.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Electricity is generally seen as a basic necessity in modern societies. But for the Mennonite community in Mexico, it is a sin.

The desert of northern Mexico seemed so perfect for these people 26 years ago, free from electricity, television or cars.

ReadAlso

Coronavirus: U.S. joins France, Germany, Israel, begins evacuation of citizens from Nigeria

International customers owe Nigeria ₦11.17bn electricity bill

But then the government installed the first power lines.

And now, this deeply traditional, tight-knit community is divided between those who want to stay in Sabinal, their far-flung, dusty village, and those who soon will load their wagons, hitch up their horses and move to a new, even more remote home.

Web Hosting in Nigeria

READ ALSO: Erdogan, King Salman in phone talk over Khashoggi

“When the power lines arrived, they decided to go,” says Sabinal resident Enrique Friesen, 37, who for his part plans to stay, with his wife and eight children.

“They don’t want electricity — just horses. They say electricity is a sin.”

Mennonite children: they go to school six months in a year

The Mennonites of Mexico are the descendants of strictly conservative Protestants whose denominations emerged out of the 16th century Reformation in Europe.

Their ancestors fled persecution in Germany and the Netherlands for Russia, then Canada and finally Mexico.

Today, the people of Sabinal live in the Chihuahuan desert almost like an isolated indigenous tribe — except that their skin is white, their hair typically blond, and their eyes blue.

Mennonite women conservative in dressing

Men traditionally wear handmade overalls, while the women opt for long, flowing dresses.

Their native language is Low German. In a sign of their limited contact with the rest of Mexico, they often speak little Spanish.

They generally reject cell phones, television, cars and even rubber tires for their horse-drawn carriages.

Of the estimated 60,000 Mennonites in the state of Chihuahua, Sabinal’s 1,500 residents are among the most cloistered.

But the arrival of electricity is bringing modernity — and controversy — to their door.

Nearly a third of the village plans to move across Mexico to the southeastern state of Campeche, where another Mennonite community has already settled.

“They want to conserve the faith. They don’t want change,” says Isaac Redecop, who runs the local store.

Other Mennonites around the world “have already changed. They use cars, while we’re still using horses,” he told AFP.

“But as far as I can tell, we have more peace and quiet than they do.”

For those who want to stay, electricity is a blessing — and one that is not necessarily prohibited by their faith.

Besides the convenience of electric lights and fans, it helps them irrigate their fields — no small task in the desert.

But those who want to leave say the outside world has already encroached far enough on their religion and culture.

Sabinal is four hours from the nearest city, Ciudad Juarez, on the border with the United States — it is located down a series of dirt roads that wind through mountains, hills and pastures.

But outside influence has crept in, mainly through the farmhands the Mennonites hire from a nearby hamlet.

On Sundays, Mennonite teens with a rebellious streak can be found in the fields covertly listening to reggaeton and Enrique Iglesias — music picked up from the workers — through battery-powered speakers.

It is nearly impossible to totally isolate them from the world beyond — especially since the Mennonites are hugely successful farmers.

They make 1.5 tonnes a day of cheese, which has become popular in the surrounding area and draws a stream of customers to Sabinal.

“It’s the only cheese around without chemicals. Customers don’t want chemicals. This cheese is pure milk,” says Redecop.

His store is one of a handful of businesses in town, alongside a doctor’s office, a pharmacy, a feed shop and a hardware store.

Besides making cheese, the Mennonites also farm cotton, sorghum and vegetables, having tamed the desert with a vast system of wells.

When they moved here in 1992, they bought their land for $172 per hectare. Those who are leaving plan to sell it for $7,000 per hectare.

Sabinal’s sprawling fields are dotted by houses adorned with colorful flowers.

Chickens and cows roam the yards, along with playing children who shout excitedly in Low German when they see a stranger arrive, then run and hide.

In a place where families have up to 17 kids, most of Sabinal’s residents are children.

They go to school six months a year — six years total for girls, seven for boys — studying subjects such as reading, writing, math, Mennonite history and the Bible.

READ ALSO: Three men land in prison for smoking in public

Their parents are apprehensive about the changes that technology could bring to a community that still prefers to fit its horse-drawn tractors and carriages with metal wheels.

“People say (electricity) is bad. They say there are bad things on television. But I don’t think everything on television is bad,” says Jacobo, an unmarried 19-year-old whose family plans to stay.

“They also say if people get rubber tires, they just use them to drive to town and buy liquor. But that’s their own fault. You can’t blame the tires.”

*AFP feature

Nigerians news

Email us @ info[at]nigerians.news
Previous Post

AUPCTRE pickets Finance ministry over Investment Tribunal

Next Post

Sen. Adeleke to be docked 31 October for exam fraud

Related Posts

appointments:-enugu-north-unfairly-treated-–-buhari-movement
News

Appointments: Enugu North unfairly treated – Buhari Movement

July 13, 2020
covid-19:-bill-gates-is-linked-to-666-–-pastor-chris-okotie-reveals-satan’s-plans
Health

COVID-19: Bill Gates is linked to 666 – Pastor Chris Okotie reveals Satan’s plans

July 13, 2020
ogun-nnpp-fires-abiodun-as-bridge-collapses-less-than-one-year-after-construction
Featured

NNPP fires Abiodun as bridge collapses less than one year after construction

July 13, 2020
covid-19:-ncdc-announces-discharge-of-13,447-patients,-571-new-cases
News

COVID-19: NCDC announces discharge of 13,447 patients, 571 new cases

July 13, 2020
magu:-buhari,-apc-against-corruption-–-spokesman,-nabena
Anti-corruption

Magu: Buhari, APC against corruption – Yekini Nabena

July 13, 2020
malami-breaks-silence-on-approving-auctioning-of-seized-oil-vessels
Anti-corruption

Malami breaks silence on approving auctioning of seized oil vessels

July 12, 2020
Next Post
Ademola Adeleke

Sen. Adeleke to be docked 31 October for exam fraud

Cheap Web hosting in Nigeria

Popular News

House votes to release Trump-Russia transcripts

Russia accuses US of planning to create new state in Syria

Barcelona star Turan faces 12 years in jail for brawl with singer

Gunmen kill OAU professor

TV host donates $100,000 to Nigerian paralysed footballer

Residents lament killings in Ondo community, say helicopter dropping arms to suspected herdsmen

Woman kills husband, children, self

Counting machines malfunction in Florida as vote recount begins

Morocco commissions Africa’s fastest train

Just In: Boko Haram kidnaps 15 girls

Subscribe to Nigerian's news Alert

Enter your email address to subscribe to Nigerian's news and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 245 other subscribers

Nigerian News

© 2019 Nigerian's news | Designed by Afeeshost

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

  • Home
  • News
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Security

© 2019 Nigerian's news | Designed by Afeeshost

Posting....