Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MENNONITES IN BELIZE
The
Mennonites
arose from the radical Anabaptist movement of the sixteenth century and
are named after the Dutch priest Menno Simons, leader of the community in its formative
years. Recurring government restrictions on their lifestyle, especially regarding their pacifist
objection to military service, forced them to move repeatedly. Having removed to Switzerland,
they travelled on to Prussia, then in 1663 to Russia, until the government revoked their
exemption from military service, whereupon some groups emigrated to North America,
settling in the prairies of Saskatchewan. World War I brought more government restrictions,
this time on the teaching of German (the Mennonites' language). This, together with the
prospect of conscription and more widespread anti-German sentiments in the Dominion of
Canada, drove them from Canada to Mexico, where they settled in the arid northern state of
Chihuahua. When the Mexican government required them to be included in its social security
programme, it was time to move on again. An investigation into the possibility of settling on
their own land in British Honduras brought them to the British colony of Belize in 1958.
They were welcomed enthusiastically by the colonial authorities, who were eager to have
willing workers to clear the jungle for agriculture. Perseverance and hard work made them
successful farmers, and in recent years prosperity has caused drastic changes in their lives. The
Mennonite Church in Belize is increasingly split between the
Kleine Gemeinde
- a modernist
section that uses electricity and power tools, and drives trucks, tractors and even cars - and
the
Altkolonier
- traditionalists who prefer a stricter expression of their beliefs. Members of the
community, easily recognizable in their denim dungarees and straw hats, can be seen trading
their produce and buying supplies every day in Orange Walk and Belize City.
VISITING THE MENNONITES
Several Mennonite communities are open to visits, including the progressive
Blue Creek
,
roughly 33 miles southwe
st of O
range Walk. Here you can stay in simple cabañas at
Hillside Bed
and Breakfast
(
T
323 0155;
US$40
), which is run by Mennonites John and Judy Klassen. They can
arrange for you to participate in Mennonite community activities, including working on the
farm and riding horses. To visit other Mennonite communities, such as the conservative
Little
Belize
(around 15 miles southwest of Sarteneja), where all transport is via horsedrawn
carriages, ask at Shipstern Nature Reserve (see p.80) or
Lamanai Outpost Lodge
(see p.76).
2
used for logging camps and was already occupied by the local Icaiché (Chichanha)
Maya. From the 1850s to the 1870s, the Icaiché Maya were in conflict with both the
Cruzob Maya, who were themselves rebelling against mestizo rule in Yucatán (and
supplied with arms by British traders in Belize), and with the British settlers and
colonial authorities in Belize. The leader of the Icaiché,
Marcos Canul
, organized
successful raids against British mahogany camps, forcing the logging firms to pay “rent”
for lands they used, and Canul even briefly occupied Corozal in 1870. In 1872 Canul
launched an attack on the barracks in Orange Walk. The West India Regiment, which
had earlier retreated in disarray after a skirmish with Canul's troops, this time forced
the Icaiché to flee across the Río Hondo, taking the fatally wounded Canul with them.
This defeat didn't end the raids, but the Maya ceased to be a threat to British rule in
northern Belize.
Orange Walk has traditionally thrived on its
crops
, first with the growth of the sugar
(and the consequent rum distillation) and citrus industries, and after the fall in sugar
prices, with profits made from marijuana. In the 1990s, however, pressure from the US
government forced Belizean authorities to destroy many of the marijuana fields, and
today the town has much less of a Wild West atmosphere than it once did.
Banquitas House of Culture
Main St, at Bautista • Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm • Free •
T
822 3302,
W
nichbelize.org
For an overview of Orange Walk history, visit the
Banquitas House of Culture
, a small
museum and cultural centre on the riverbank just north of the heart of town. The
