NANO (Jul 2017)
Consumption in Practice: Gift-giving as Mutual Aid in Amish Direct Homes Sales
Abstract
The seemingly pastoral way of Amish living, manifested in their denial of modern technology, use of the horse-and-buggy, and community-sanctioned use of solid-color dress codes, does not invoke an image of the Amish as active consumers. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, this paper examines Amish participation in direct home sales parties, exploring how consumer culture reflects the Amish emphasis on mutual aid, a nuanced form of gift giving with its own complex, idiosyncratic set of rites and gestures. By exploring the practices of direct home sales in Amish homes, I argue that consumption-based social events such as direct home sales parties reinforce the close-knit relationship of the Amish by providing participants with opportunities to practice mutual aid in intimate social settings. Additionally, the personal nature of these parties also provides Amish women with an opportunity to socially interact with their coreligionists. In turn, this social aspect legitimizes their enthusiastic consumption activities, ultimately constituting an integral part of their religious identity.
