Globalize Your Traditions

Tradition vs. Globalization

My father’s family moved from Latvia to the United States in the 1940s. With them they brought a vast array of traditions and beliefs and one of my favorite things about this life is being able to participate in some of them. I have always loved listening to Latvian folk tales, making perogs and pastries with my ‘Vecmamin’ (Grandmother), and  wearing some of the older fashions to school. I still love dancing traditional Latvian dances to traditional Latvian songs at family gatherings and weddings. And yet, although my cousins and I have tried our best to continue appreciating all of these special traditions, we are failing at being exactly like our elders.

[caption id="attachment_3500" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Indans Family arriving to America from Latvia circa mid 1940s[/caption]

In college, I attempted to tackle this issue of family traditions in peril in a short documentary film. The danger of lost tradition appeared to stem from two main culprits: intermarriage and personal lack of consideration. Particularly the intermarriage, appeared to contribute most visibly to the loss of tradition, but a closer look suggested that the story was perhaps more complex than that. Intermarriage brings together the disparate families and traditions of two individuals from different backgrounds. Traditions may be consequently lost to this new pair, but this does not mean that all traditions are. If anything, intermarriage simply enables one individual to choose among more traditions than she or he might otherwise have in her cultural armamentarium.

A very close friend of mine whose family originates from Venezuela is to be married to an American next summer. Traditionally in Venezuela, the woman keeps both her original last name and also takes on her husband’s last name. Now, living in the United States, she will take on her fiancé’s last name. Even though the situation irks me, as I am annoyed that women ‘have’ to take a man’s last name, there is a beauty in the transition of one’s tradition into a new one. Simply, my friend slipped into another’s line of transmission.

Globalization may be seen as a much more extended, version of intermarriage. Throughout the processes of both Globalization and legal intermarriage individuals experience interaction and integration, making deals or promises, trading and investing. Just like intermarriage, sometimes globalization is looked upon as an imperialistic approach to conform everyone’s culture; to ‘advance’ it. There is some bad to this, some truth; but, there is also some good to focus on.

Because of globalization, now it is not just the United States of America that might be considered a melting pot. Countries all over the world are exchanging their traditions and beliefs with each other at a fever pitch; we are arguably all connecting a little bit more than we used to. And it makes sense that we would. In a world that is constantly evolving, in which new technologies and jobs are being created every day, won’t we have to find a way for tradition and globalization complement each other? Isn’t that a whole tradition in itself: Humans working together and connecting from around the world? What is tradition anyway, and what makes it anathema to globalization – or vice versa? IS the continuance of tradition simple to “Stay Pure” or “Create a Rarity”? Why the versus? Can’t the two complement each other? I vote yes!

Doesn't the ability of traditions to evolve make them even more special than their oddity or exoticism in their original forms? Just like the evolution of humans, cultural beliefs and customs evolve and twist and turn, and future generations will look back on it all and probably wonder what the big deal is to everybody now. Globalization at its finest, incorporates and appreciates all cultures. The humans working for international trade and investment companies are hopefully taking that to heart.

What I Learned from the Amish

Whilst waiting in a long line to board onto the Chicago AmTrak train one afternoon, I couldn’t help but to study and enjoy the presence of a large Amish family nearby. The bearded man wearing suspenders was accompanied by three adult women and four absolutely adorable small children.  They had suitcases of various vibrant colors and sipped from just-purchased plastic water containers. The line of travelers started to descend as everyone was loaded onto the train. To my surprise, I would be surrounded by the Amish family on the seats to the left and front of mine.

The little children would stare at me, and we would have smiling contests. I did not have much to share with the children or show them. Trying to respect the culture’s preference of a non-technological lifestyle and the choice to avoid excessive dress and style, I was somewhat nervous to show them things I had with me. My worries of what the children could be exposed to could somehow affect the rest of their lives. They were so innocent and sweet. I instead wanted them to show me their things, and learn more about their way of life.

They spoke in a language I could not decipher, but could only assume it to be of Dutch origin. They also spoke in English, but not as often. The women would read to the little children in their preferred language rather than in English, although the books were written in the latter. The books appeared to be youth primers for their religion, and they included songs, poems, stories, pictures, and coloring pages. One adult sat in a separate section and allowed the children to walk back and forth to the different seats and would all sit on the adults' laps. I wondered if the family practiced polygamy because the man had so many adult women with him and all of the children were clinging to each adult, especially the man. However, the Amish do not practice polygamy, and these families were just working together like a small community.

Their dress is plain and simple, and they sew their own fashions. How do they acquire the dark blue, black, and brown materials? Rural markets and dry goods stores. The women do not cut their hair, and the men, once married, do not cut their beards. Bonnets cover the heads of the baptized women and little girls, while males sport a traditional hair cut fashion and are forbidden to have mustaches. Men are not allowed to wear mustaches in Amish communities because it is thought to resemble men in the military. The Amish do not partake in violence and therefore are not forced to join the military.

The woman sitting to my upper left seemed to be much more confident with the children. She looked to the man often to tell him a feeling or thought with her eyes, and also using their unique dialect. The woman sitting to my left, however, sparked my curiosity even more. She was quieter, younger, and wore glasses. She would cuddle the visiting children and would read to them.  When she wasn't taking care of the children, she would look at her surroundings and seemed to be philosophizing about what and why things were. She would stare out of the train window and take in all of the urban outside life. Was she wondering what life was like for the "modern folk"? Did she want to walk in the old abandoned buildings to investigate and dream up a place for the family’s sofa? Did she want to experience driving a car? Or was her faith so deeply rooted that none of things crossed her mind as they would mine? Perhaps she just loved and enjoyed the life she was blessed with and was content with what she already had. Either way, it somehow felt really special to witness that Amish woman looking out of her window.

A funnier experience was when one of the Amish women accidentally walked in on me using the train's restroom. As the door opened and our eyes met, she looked almost horrified and said, “Oh! Sorry!” I really could only laugh about the situation.

The sweetest experience was noticing two sleeping children sprawled all over their father figure. I had just gotten up to leave as the train had reached its destination. I looked at the man and he gave me a smile and nod as I whispered, “They are so sweet."

Since my experiences among the Amish family, I have become much more interested about the Amish and even Mennonite culture. What a beautiful and simplistic way to live.