Old Colony and General Conference Mennonites in Chihuahua, Mexico: History, representations and women's everyday lives in health and illness Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Reinschmidt, Kerstin Muller Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 08/10/2021 22:39:20 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/279881 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be fit)m any type of computer printer. 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ProQuest Informatkm and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 OLD COLONY AND GENERAL CONFERENCE MENNONITES IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO: HISTORY, REPRESENTATIONS AND WOMEN'S EVERYDAY LIVES IN HEALTH AND ILLNESS by Kerstin Muller Reinschmidt Copyright © Kerstin Muller Reinschmidt 2001 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 200 1 UMI Number: 3031394 Copyright 2001 by Reinschmidt, Kerstin Muller All rights reserved. UMI' UM( Microform30at394 Copyright 2002 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA « GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee> we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Kerstin Muller Reinschmidt entitled OLD COLONY AND GENERAL CONFERENCE MENNONITES IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO; HISTORY, REPRESENTATIONS AND WOMEN'S EVERYDAY LIVES IN HEALTH AND ILLNESS and recommend chat it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy ////6 /ol Dr.^Mark Nichter Date ur. neien n.. Menaerson Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. f) //6 !o[ Dissertation Director Dr. Mark Nichter Date STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: Vl. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the cooperation, patience and interest of the Old Colony and General Conference women, men and young people of the Bustillos Valley in Chihuahua, Mexico. In their generosity, women opened their homes and let me come into their everyday lives. I am grateful for their hospitality, for hours of spatsearen, and for lasting friendships. To the Mennonite women in the Cuauhtemoc area, I dedicate this dissertation. My deepest gratitude and appreciation go to my dissertation committee. I thank Professor Mark Nichter for his constructive criticism, caring encouragement, and mindful mentorship. Professor Herman Bleibtreu has provided me with first contacts to the Mennonites of the Cuauhtemoc area, and with insights pertaining to the "men's world." He also introduced me to then Ph.D.-candidate Kelly Hedges, whose academic generosity and enthusiasm for the Mennonites in Mexico strengthened my decision to work with this fascinating group of people. I thank Professor Helen Henderson for her expertise in women's studies and her insight into women's everyday struggles in men's worlds. I am also grateful to Professors Daniel Nugent (who passed away untimely in October 1997, but who lives on in the memory and work of his students). Ana Ortiz, and Richard Thompson, who served on my Prelims Committee. In addition, I want to thank INAH Chihuahua, especially Jose Luis Perea Gonzalez, Silvia Ortiz Echaniz and Ben Brown, for their interest in and support of my project. The Graduate College Graduate Student Final Project Fund and the Edward H. Spicer Research Fund, both from the University of Arizona, have partially funded this dissertation. I greatly appreciate their support. My fellow graduate students and friends Elea Aguirre, who first alerted me to the presence of Mennonites in Mexico, Paola Sesia, Eda Saynes, Maribel Alvarez, Sophie Frishkopf, Hortensia Caballero, and Jose Luis Moctezuma Zamarron made graduate studies an unforgettable experience. In particular, I thank Sophie for her enthusiastic proofreading of this dissertation. Naturally, I take the full responsibility for any remaining mistakes. Julia Gousseva-Goodwin has been a loyal friend since the very first day I arrived in Tucson, when destiny brought us together. She and her family occupy a special place in my heart, as do Martina Schaefer and Andreas He0, whose frequent cheering across the ocean brightened my days. In Tucson, the Shalom Mennonite extended family not only was interested in their more traditional sisters and brothers in faith in Mexico, but also offered much fnendship and practical support in times of difficulty. Leah Stauber greatly helped during the final days of writing this dissertation. From Germany, my parents, my two brothers and my in>Iaws throughout the years have made efforts to stay in touch with me via weekly and surprise phone calls, letters or e-mail messages. These efforts meant a lot to me. I was especially pleased when my parents visited me in Chihuahua during my fieldwork because for the first time I could show them by example the kind of work I have dedicated myself to. Most of all, I am indebted to my husband Michael for postponing his own research in Korea and instead coming to Mexico in order to be with me. I am grateful for all the many ways he has supported me and my work, for his patience, for his faith in me, for his infinite love, and for being my solid rock in the raucous river of life. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1 i LIST OF TABLES 12 A NOTE ON TRANSLATIONS AND SPELLING 13 ABSTRACT 14 INTRODUCTION 16 PART I: MENNONITES IN MEXICO: HISTORY AND REPRESENTATIONS 24 1. Strangers and Pilgrims: A History of the Mennonite Groups of Chihuahua 25 1.1. Little People: Anabaptist Origins, Processes of Group Formation and Migrations 28 Beginnings and Beliefs : 28 Persecution and Survival 32 Northern European Anabaptists 34 Prussia 40 Russia 46 Canada 56 Relocating to Mexico 65 1.2. Mennonite Colonies in Northern Chihuahua 69 Why Mexico? 69 Pioneering Years 72 Established Colonies 81 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued 2. Representations of "The Mexican Mennonites" 93 2.1. Mennonite Scholars' Images 95 2.2. Bis Hierhier Hat Uns Der HERR Geholfen: 75 Aniversario Menonitas En Mexico, 1922-1997 104 Preparing and Anticipating 104 Celebrating 75 Years of Mennonites in Mexico 113 Words of Gratitude, Words of Responsibility 120 Envisioning the Future 126 After the Big Event 129 2.3. History Reconsidered 134 2.4. Journalists' Images t 155 PART II: DOING ANTHROPOLOGY 168 3. An Anthropologist at Work 168 3.1. Traveling. Making Contacts and First Impressions 169 Traveling and Making Contacts 169 First Impressions 181 3.2. Research Design and Fieldwork 186 In the Field 187 Samples and Methods 192 3.3. Writing Processes 203 Epistemology 203 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Conlinued Writing Culture 207 PART III: EVERYDAY LIFE: WOMEN'S WORLDS 215 4. Waul Schaufis?-. Women's Work 218 4.1 .Gendered Work 219 4.2. Ekj Sie Bloos ne Hiissfi'u 232 Aganetha Enns 234 Maria Wiebe 238 Susana Berg 240 Helena Enns 245 Katharina Janzen 248 4.3. Rhythms .• 251 Taking Care of Children 254 Housework 255 Making Food 259 Baking 261 Laundry 262 Sewing 263 Garden and Yard Work 266 Use Animals 268 Business 271 Shopping 273 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Coniinueci Daily and Weeicly Work Rhythms 273 Seasonal and Religious Rhythms 277 5. Serving and Spatsearen 285 5.1. Serving the Community 289 5.2. Social Visiting 300 Visiting Aganetha Enns' Family 304 An Easter Sunday at Anna Krahn's Home 307 Segmented Socializing 308 Visiting Etiquette 311 Mennonites Talking 315 6. Everyday Living as Health: Women's Health Work, and Local Meanings of Health 322 6.1.