According to the 2012 estimates, there were 100,000
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Ra ...
s living in
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
(including 32,167 baptized adult church members),
the vast majority of them, or about 90,000 are established in the state of
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
,
6,500 were living in
Durango
Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated i ...
,
with the rest living in small colonies in the states of
Campeche
Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...
,
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
,
Zacatecas
, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
, map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type ...
,
San Luis Potosí and
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...
.
Their settlements were first established in the 1920s. In 1922, 3,000 Mennonites from the Canadian province of
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Win ...
established in
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
.
By 1927, Mennonites reached 10,000 and they were established in
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
,
Durango
Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated i ...
and
Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
.
[
Worsening poverty, water shortages and drug-related violence across northern Mexico have provoked significant numbers of Mennonites living in ]Durango
Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated i ...
and Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
to relocate abroad in recent years, especially to Canada, and to other regions of Latin America. Between 2012 and 2017 alone, it is estimated that at least 30,000 Mexican Mennonites emigrated to Canada.
History
Background
The ancestors of the vast majority of Mexican Mennonites settled in the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
in the late 18th and 19th centuries, coming from the Vistula delta in West Prussia. Even though these Mennonites are Dutch and Prussian by ancestry, language and custom, they are generally called Russian Mennonites
The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for a ...
, ''Russland-Mennoniten'' in German. In the years after 1873, some 7,000 left the Russian Empire and settled in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
. In the period leading up to and during World War I, governments in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Win ...
and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
passed laws requiring public schools to fly the Union flag, required compulsory attendance, and created public schools in areas of Mennonite settlement. In response the more conservative Mennonites sent out delegates to a number of countries to seek out a new land for settlement. They finally settled in a tract of land in Northern Mexico after negotiating certain privileges with Mexican President Álvaro Obregón
Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...
. Approximately 6,000 of the most conservative Mennonites eventually left Manitoba and Saskatchewan for Mexico. The first train left Plum Coulee, Manitoba, on March 1, 1922.
Migration
Between 1922 and 1925, some 3,200 members of the ''Reinlaender Gemeinde'' in Manitoba and 1,200 from the Swift Current area left Canada to settle in Northern Mexico on approximately of land in the Bustillos Valley near present-day Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua. The Manitoba and Swift Current area groups settled the Manitoba and Swift Colonies in Chihuahua, while about 950 Mennonites from the Hague-Osler settlement in Saskatchewan settled on in Durango near Nuevo Ideal. In 1927 some 7,000 Mennonites from Canada lived in Mexico.
After 1924, another 200 Mennonite families (some 1,000 persons) from Soviet Russia, tried to settle in Mexico. But in the end only 6 out of the 200 families from Russia remained in Mexico. Between 1948 and 1952, some 595 persons of the '' Kleine Gemeinde'' in Manitoba bought and settled the ''Quellenkolonie''. They were joined by 246 Old Colony settlers from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but most of these settlers either soon returned to Canada or left the colony.
Settlements
The Mennonites established farms, machine shops and motorized vehicles for transporting produce (although automobiles were forbidden for common use). Canadian oats, beans and corn were the main produce. The villages followed Mennonite architectural styles existent in Russia and Canada and the names were based in some cases on former names in Germany but in most cases from German names of villages in Russia and Canada such as Rosenort, Steinbach and Schönwiese. The colonies were based on former Mennonite social structures in terms of education, similar prayer houses and unsalaried ministers. Conservative dress and traditional roles for women were the norm.
Demography
Starting with the first 3,000 mennonite colonists in 1922,[ community's population grew exponentially and in just a 100 year it reached 100,000, or a growth of over 3000%.
]
Present
In Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
, Mennonites continue their lifestyle with several reforms, such as the use of automobiles. They coexist, learning Spanish, and English, alongside their German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
, living side by side with the castizos
''Castizo''Pronunciation in Latin American Spanish: is a racial category used in 18th-century Colonial Mexico to refer to people who were three-quarters Spanish by descent and one-quarter Amerindian. The feminine form of the word is ''castiza''. ...
in the hill country of the state. During the harvest season they employ a considerable number of Tarahumara people from the nearby Copper Canyon area. About 50,000 Mennonites reside near the city of Cuauhtémoc in Chihuahua.
In Durango
Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated i ...
, there are 32 Mennonite communities (30 in Nuevo Ideal Municipality
Nuevo Ideal is a municipality in the Mexican state of Durango. The municipal seat lies at Nuevo Ideal
Nuevo Ideal is a city in the state of Durango, Mexico. In the 1920s, a population of Mennonite immigrants, originating from Canada, settled ...
and 2 in Santiago Papasquiaro Municipality). Mennonites in Durango number reached a top of 8,000 in 2011, now they are 6,500; most of them live in Nuevo Ideal. Nuevo Ideal's lies around north of the city of Durango. Once in Nuevo Ideal, it becomes central transit point where the main roads that communicate Northwest and Northeast Durango separate (the road going northwest to Santa Catarina de Tepehuanes is paved while the one going to Escobedo, Durango towards the northeast, is a dirt road). Mennonites benefit from this transit point since many travelers and truck drivers stop in Nuevo Ideal in search of Menonita Cheese.
The largest denomination as of 2006 is ''Old Colony Mennonite Church'' with 17,200 members, ''Kleingemeinde in Mexiko'' has 2,150 members, '' Sommerfelder Mennonitengemeinde'' has 2,043 members, ''Reinländer-Gemeinde'' has 1,350 members, and ''Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference'' has 97 members
The community of Chihuahua separates themselves into "conservative" and "liberal", with the liberal faction accounting for 20% of the population. This group is more open to outsiders and as such, more likely to marry outside of the community than their conservative peers. It is also more common for this group to adopt Tarahumara and Mestizo children. These children grow up as any other Mennonite would, learning German in school and helping out in the community.
Since the start of the Mexican Drug War, many Mennonite colonies in Chihuahua have suffered the impact of the drug-related violence. The location of the colonies and the economic success of the Mennonites are the reasons why the community has been affected. The economic achievements have attracted the attention of organized criminal gangs, putting Mennonites at risk of armed robbery, kidnap and extortion. These factors have led Mennonites from northern Mexico to emigrate to other Mennonite settlements in Alberta, Canada, Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...
and Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
to escape the violence. Thousands have moved and settled in more secure Mexican states like Campeche
Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...
, or moved to other South American countries like Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
and Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
.
Some Mennonites were, in fact, convicted of drug running in the 1990s. There have been fresh accusations more recently. In 2014, Abraham Friesen-Remple was one of six members of the Northern Mexico's Mennonite community who were indicted and accused of smuggling marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...
in the gas tanks of cars and inside farm equipment.
During 2007, the colony of Salamanca (a Mennonite settlement with a population of 800 spread over in the state of Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...
) was completely destroyed due to the landfall of Hurricane Dean
Hurricane Dean was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the most intense North Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Wilma of 2005, tying for eighth overall. Additionally, it made the fourth most intense ...
. As of 2008, Salamanca had a population of 862.
A number of congregations of Conservative Mennonites
Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations.
Con ...
have been established throughout Mexico including La Esperanza and Pedernales in Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
, La Honda, Zacatecas
, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
, map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type ...
, and more recently Oaxaca
)
, population_note =
, population_rank = 10th
, timezone1 = CST
, utc_offset1 = −6
, timezone1_DST = CDT
, utc_offset1_DST = −5
, postal_code_type = Postal ...
.
In addition to escalating drug-related violence and worsening poverty in Mexico, Mennonites living in Chihuahua and Durango have had to contend with extended periods of droughts as well as tensions with non-Mennonite farmers over access to water. The combination of these factors has provoked significant numbers of Mennonites in the region to emigrate abroad, especially to Canada and South America, in recent years. From 2012 to 2017 alone, it is estimated that 30,000 Mexican Mennonites relocated to Canada. A 2020 survey found that there are more than 200 Mennonite colonies in nine Latin American countries, with 66 in Mexico.
Mennonite Family - Campeche - Mexico - 01.jpg, Mennonite family from Campeche.
Mennonites campeche.jpg, Mennonites in Hopelchén
Hopelchén (, Yucatec Maya: "place of five wells") is a city in the Mexican state of Campeche. It is situated inland in the north of the state. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding Hopelchén Municipality
Hopelchén (Yucatec Ma ...
, Campeche.
Little peddler boy, Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico.jpg, Mennonite peddler boy selling bread in Bacalar, Quintana Roo.
Film
The Mexican Mennonite community was the setting for the 2007 film '' Stellet Licht'' by acclaimed Mexican director Carlos Reygadas.
See also
* Queso Chihuahua
In Mexico, queso Chihuahua is commonly recognized as a soft white cheese available in braids, balls or rounds and originates in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. In Chihuahua, it is called ''queso menonita'', after the Mennonite communities of north ...
Literature
* Harry Leonard Sawatzky: ''They Sought a Country: Mennonite Colonization in Mexico'', Berkeley, CA et al. 1971.
* Harry Leonard Sawatzky: ''Sie suchten eine Heimat : deutsch-mennonitische Kolonisierung in Mexiko, 1922 - 1984'', Marburg 1986. (Not just a translation of the English book, but a distinct publication)
* Walter Schmiedehaus: ''Die Altkolonier-Mennoniten in Mexiko'', Winnipeg 1982
References
External links
Mexican Farmers Exploring Tatarstan Agribusiness
at The Kazan Herald
''The Kazan Herald'' (Rus.: ''Казанский Вестник'', Tat.: ''Казан Мөхбире'') is the only English-language online newspaper published in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, Russia. It was also distributed free of charge ...
Mexico
at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
Protective Retreat: Mexico's Mennonites Consider a New Migration
- ''The World and I''
"Data for "Pious Pioneers: The expansion of Mennonite colonies in Latin America""
This data is provided in support of the paper "Pious Pioneers: The expansion of Mennonite colonies in Latin America", published in the Journal of Land Use Science, December 15, 2020, 1–17
{{Religion in Mexico
Canadian diaspora in Mexico
German diaspora in North America
Russian Mennonite diaspora in Mexico
Ukrainian diaspora in North America