Mennonites in Belize

     The tamalito season is here (in western Belize at least) and both Mennonites and non-Mennonites are making tamalitos. Not the same as tamales wrapped in banana leaves which is common throughout the year. Tamalitos are different because they can only be done with fresh green corn which is twice a year. They resemble regular tamales but instead of being wrapped in banana leaves, they are enclosed in corn husks, have a firmer texture, and usually do not carry any meat inside. Two different ways of cooking tamalitos is with and without sugar. While in Guatemala and neighboring countries sweet tamalitos are popular, in Belize many people prefer without sugar. Of course, they are tastier when fresh, but tamalitos slightly roasted over an open fire several days later is a delicious snack welcomed by anyone.  Below is my mother's recipe: Several ears of fresh green corn (depending on how full the ears are, one ear usually yields about 1 tamalito) Cut off bottom end of c...

      This Saturday, the 31st of July, the first annual parade of yard sales will be held on Route 20 West, Spanish Lookout. More than 5 different yard sales will be going on at the same time on the same road. For local readers, Route 20 West is the road that runs between Crossroad Farm Supplies and Midwest Steel & Hardware and leads to the village of Duck Run 2.   According to a close friend, a new public library is set to open soon right on Center Road. I'll post the name and exact location later once they are officially open for visitors. I'm a born bookworm, so of course I'll be one of the first on checking it out.   And a massive auction sale of assorted household and farm stuff which will be held at Reimer's Feed Mill, Spanish Lookout, next Saturday, the 7th of August, is an event not to be missed. The flyer had a double list of items with an ending phrase stating that there were items too numerous to mention. Usually these big auction sales in Spanish...

      Above is a video uploaded to Youtube some weeks ago featuring a  walking tour  of Spanish Lookout.   Here is a  link to a Mennonite Youtuber from Spanish Lookout. Subscribe to his channel for wonderful up-close videos of life in a modern Mennonite community.   And here is a short  clip of Old Colony Mennonites working with cattle.   Click  here  for a glimpse of some restaurants in Spanish Lookout.                                                       A. Mendoza

   Again. Yet again. Stricter curfew hours, certain churches being completely closed down, etc. Due to a sharp rise in cases, the government is imposing new restrictions to the point where it seems as if a lot of the blame is being placed on churches. But the Mennonite churches inside  autonomous colonies haven't paid much attention to Covid regulations. Is it really because God is first in their hearts? Or maybe it's more out of religious tradition embedded in their culture through 400 years of isolation. In other words, to stop gathering for church on Sunday is to stop being Mennonite.  Outside  the colonies, Mennonite churches are much more heedful about obeying regulations.   A much anticipated  debate between pro-vaxxers and anti-vaxxers scheduled for Friday was halted by the government out of concern that it would be spreading misinformation (or perhaps they were more concerned about the anti-vaxxers actually winning the argument).   In oth...

A Kleine Gemeinde church building in Spanish Lookout History   In the early 19th century, a small group stepped out of the much larger and traditional Mennonite church in southern Russia. They established a new church, labelled as Kleine Gemeinde (small church) which grew slowly but steadily. Towards the end of the 19th century the Kleine Gemeinde, along with thousands of Old Colony Mennonites, migrated to Canada and the US. In the middle of the 20th century, Kleine Gemeinde families moved to northern Mexico. A decade later, in 1958, a group migrated to central Belize which at that time was still a colony of Britain and known as British Honduras. Several Old Colony families migrated here at that time but separated and settled in the north of the country.   The first 10 years in Belize were extremely rough for both groups of Mennonites as they faced hot humid jungles, floodings, acres of mud, people with dark skin and foreign ways, incessant rain, very little motorized transpor...

     Was Hamlet afflicted by the coronavirus? Or maybe his famous creator, Shakespeare, unwittingly prophesied the future. Whatever the case, the first verse of Hamlet's renowned poem describes the situation that many Mennonites find themselves in right now as they face the reality of the Belizean government attempting to implement mandatory vaccines to immunize the citizens against Covid-19.   Vaccination. Some Mennonites appear paranoid which has led to heated and interesting discussions between them and pro-vaxxers. In fact, to listen to some of these Mennonites, you would think that taking the Covid-19 was an unforgivable sin, on the same level as spiritual blasphemy; apparently St. Peter has a vaccine detector mounted on the Pearly Gates. Others have seemingly become science experts and medical professionals overnight. Still others have dire predictions, stating that to receive the vaccine was equal to receiving the mark of the beast, linking the vaccine with th...

      Here is a glimpse at an Old Colony Mennonite  funeral service. After the funeral is over close relatives remain for a meal together. Normally children do not go to church until 12 or 13 years; on special occasions such as weddings and funerals they are allowed. Regular church services begin at sunrise on Sunday mornings.                                                A. Mendoza

     Here is a  video documentary on Old Colony Mennonites from the community of Little Belize, Corozal. The video features a family who moved to Peru.                                                       A. Mendoza

  Picture: Channel 5 Someone reported to me that one of his cheekbones was broken.   It's something you hear about in rigid Old Colony Mennonite communities down in Bolivia and Paraguay. But here in Belize? While it is not uncommon among these type of Mennonites, these lynchings are certainly rare in Belize. However it appears more an issue of personal grievances than a church-sanctioned punishment.    According to a source, Abram Andres who works as a butcher in Camp 40, Shipyard, was hauled into a pickup truck, carried over to another "camp", and was then brutally attacked with kicks, fists, and even whipped with a piece of cable by 5 or 6 Mennonite men from the community and a non-Mennonite male, (most likely the driver of the vehicle) after which he was taken back to his own camp. The irony is that it is a sin for the Old Colony Mennonites to drive a motor vehicle with rubber tires; hence the non-Mennonite male enters the picture since the Mennonite attackers wou...

     The Old Colony Mennonite community of Belize has finally become a flourishing cattle exporter. Certainly a big change from the previous government's approach towards cattle business. Channel 7 had full coverage of this momentous event. Read the story  here  or watch the  video .                                                        A. Mendoza