Amish Frolic
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cindy47452/3683237628/
Licence: Cindy Cornett Seigle
| Giver: | Community |
|---|---|
| Receiver: | Individual or unstructured/informal group |
| Gift: | Time |
| Approach: | Reciprocal Gift |
| Issues: | 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities |
| Included in: | Religious Giving, Volunteerism |
In Amish society, a frolic refers to a work project in which community members come together to help each other complete a task. Frolics can consist of constructing or renovating a building, harvesting a field, canning vegetables or performing household chores. While participation in a frolic is voluntary, there is an underlying expectation that people who have received assistance in the past will reciprocate when others need help with their own work. In addition to providing free labor, the Amish frolic functions as a social gathering, creating an opportunity for families and friends to reconnect over food and conversation. A form of mutual aid rooted in a common value system, the frolic holds a central place in Amish culture, promoting unity and solidarity among its members while spurring activity that is vital to the communal economy.
The frolic represents a core aspect of the Amish worldview. A sect of Mennonite Christians with settlements throughout North America, the Amish adhere to a way of life based on principles of self-sufficiency, cooperation and sustainability. The Amish largely remain apart from mainstream society, sustaining themselves through farming and by operating small businesses. While the Amish use money to purchase supplies or other necessities from the outside world, they often use barter or other forms of non-monetary compensation when conducting transactions among themselves. This eschewal of modern forms of exchange forms the basis of the frolic.
Historically, one of the best-known forms of Amish frolic revolves around building a barn, known as a barn raising. The endeavor typically involves the majority of able-bodied males from the community. Working together, these work teams can usually complete the bulk of the construction in a single day. For large-scale projects, men from other nearby communities will also offer their labor. On occasion, over a hundred men will participate in raising a barn, providing everyone involved with an opportunity to broaden their social network while strengthening relations with their neighbors.
Today, the term frolic usually refers to smaller projects, such as cleaning a neighbor’s shed or shucking corn, as well as to regular gatherings of friends or siblings to build furniture or sew quilts. The Amish typically organize frolics along gender lines. Male members of the community participate in projects requiring manual labor, while women come together to perform domestic work. During large projects, Amish women also take responsibility for feeding the workers. These communal meals have a celebratory quality, and represent an integral part of the frolic.
Although Amish children don’t contribute labor to a frolic, they use the occasion to play and forge relationships with their peers. Participating in a frolic also provides younger generations with valuable lessons about community and cooperation – thereby ensuring that the Amish tradition of mutual aid will continue to thrive in the future.
Contributor: Stephen Meyer
| Source type | Full citation | Link (DOI or URL) |
|---|---|---|
| Publication |
Wenger, Anna Frances Z., and Marion Wenger. “Community and Family Care Patterns of the Old Order Amish.” In Care, Discovery and Uses in Clinical and Community Nursing, edited by Madeleine M. Leininger, 39-54. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1988. |
9780814319970 |
| Publication |
Kraybill, Donald B. “Auctions, Frolics, and Gangs.” In The Riddle of the Amish, rev. ed., 142-60. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. |
https://doi.org/10.56021/9780801867712 |
| Publication |
Kollmorgen, Walter M. “The Agricultural Stability of the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.” American Journal of Sociology 49, no. 3 (November 1943): 233-41. |
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2771249 |
|
Johnson-Weiner, Karen M. “Technological Diversity and Cultural Change Among Contemporary Amish Groups.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 88, no. 1 (January 2014): 5-22. |
https://www.goshen.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/75/2016/06/Jan14Johnson.pdf | |
|
Hostetler, John A. “The Amish Use of Symbols and Their Function in Bounding the Community.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 94, no. 1 (January-June 1964): 11-22. |
https://doi.org/10.2307/2844443 |