“Ordnung”
The literal translation from German is ”Order and Respect”, however to obtain a deeper understanding please read on.
Ordnung - f. (plural: Ordnungen)
1. arrangement, regulation – regular, proper and systematic arrangement
a) of, relating to, or being a system
b) carried out using a planned, ordered procedure,
c) methodical, regular and orderly
2. classification, order, array
3. tidiness, orderliness
4. class, rank, succession, series
5. the Amish rules of living.
The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish living. The word Ordnung, borrowed from the German language, means order, arrangement, organization, or system. Because the Amish have no central church government, each assembly is autonomous and is its own governing authority. Thus, every local church maintains an individual set of rules, adhering to its own Ordnung which may vary from district to district as each community administers its own guidelines. These rules are largely unwritten.
An Amish minister says of the Ordnung: A respected Ordnung generates peace, love, contentment, equality, and unity. It creates a desire for togetherness and fellowship. It binds marriages, it strengthens family ties to live together, to work together, to worship together…. – Donald B. Kraybill , The Riddle of Amish Culture, p.98
Language - Although Amish are referred to as “German speaking,” they are multilingual. At most religious services, the Bible is quoted in High German. Their conversational language, spoken in the home and community, is a distinct dialect called Pennsylvanian German or Dutch (a bastardization of the term “Deutsch,” meaning German), which stems from the European countries from which their ancestors migrated. Dutch does not refer to the language of the Netherlands.
The practices, teachings, and taboos of the church are known as the Ordnung, a word without a simple English equivalent. The Ordnung defines the expected conduct of members. The “understandings” of the Ordnung include general principles, such as modesty and nonviolence, as well as specific applications. Generally unwritten and passed on by oral tradition, the Ordnung is a body of communal regulations that cultivate group identity, cohesion, and order. The Ordnung articulates the moral order of the community, and its practice defines the very essence of Amish identity.
Antonyms: messy , untidy, unstructured, chaos
Quotes: “Ist die eigene Person in Ordnung, so kommt die Familie in Ordnung; ist die Familie in Ordnung, so kommt der Staat in Ordnung; ist der Staat in Ordnung, so kommt die Welt in Ordnung.”
Is the person in order, so comes the family into order; is the family in order, so comes the state into order; is the state in order, so comes the world into order.
- Lü Bu We 291?–235 BCE) Merchant, politican, philosopher - according to Chinese beliefs, he was the real father of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China.
“Ordnung ist das halbe Leben.” – Order is half of life. - Cleanliness is next to godliness.- A tidy house, a tidy mind.
“Wer Ordnung hat, ist nur zu faul zum Suchen.” – He who has order, is just too lazy to search.
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