Amishman Explains: Beards, Suspenders & The Bonnet
“It’s amazing what our labels do,” says Ben Riehl.
In this video, Ben explains why Amish men wear beards and suspenders. He also describes the difference between a bonnet and kapp (prayer covering).
This was an illuminating and fun discussion. If you prefer to read, you’ll find the full transcript of our conversation just below this video.
Amish Men & The Beard
Erik Wesner: Speaking of beards, there was another question he wrote: “Here’s something else. Many Amish have beards but shave the mustache, like Old Order Mennonites and Muslims”- I don’t know if he’s totally on board there, but the question is, “what is the root of their beard culture?”
Ben Riehl: Yeah. The beard is quite simply just a symbol of humility. The mustache, it has its historical roots way back, would be more of a militaristic type of thing or a fashion. You know, mustache would be fashionable in another era.
You know, once once these traditions get ingrained, people just do them. They don’t know why. And that’s kind of what it is. Just the way we do it. Put it that way.
Ben: But the bottom line is the beard is a symbol of humility. And, you know, the Mennonites would tell us that you only get to heaven by a close shave [laughing], but, I don’t agree. It has nothing to do. You know, your shaving has nothing to do with salvation by faith that, you know, by grace through faith 🙂 .
Erik: For people who don’t know the Old Order Mennonites, like, in your area, you have a lot of the buggy Mennonites. They don’t wear beards. So the commenter was off a little bit there, but they’re clean shaven, the men, right?
Ben: Yeah. And that’s what they say. “You’re gonna get to heaven by a close shave.” I usually say you only get to heaven by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin 🙂 .
Erik: But there’s a Biblical basis to the beard? Scriptural passages referring to the beard?
Ben: I’m not so sure that there would really be, like, in the New Testament, like, in any of apostle Paul’s writings or anything that – if anything, I don’t know that there is. It might be hidden in Leviticus somewhere that I don’t know about.
I’m being a little sarcastic there, but not really.
The Amish Woman’s Kapp & Bonnet
Ben: No. It’s not a Biblical reference, like, say, the woman’s prayer covering would be – where Paul pretty much talks about a woman’s head covering, her hair being covered, as a mark of the angels. There’s nothing like that concerning the beard.
Erik: The white head covering, that’s known as – also known in your language – in your dialect, Pennsylvania German, it’s called the…
Ben: Kapp.
Erik: That’s how you pronounce it. Kapp. And more than one kapp is pronounced…
Ben: Kappa.
Erik: Kappa. So one kapp, two kappa. Just so people know, that’s the prayer covering, or kapp. It’s not the bonnet. Right?
Ben: Exactly. The bonnet is the outer – the next headgear.
Erik: Headgear. I just thought of – sorry – I just thought of…I was a wrestler in high school. I did high school wrestling, and we had to wear headgear. That was just totally something else [laughter]. Chinstrap….It’s not what they’re wearing.
Ben: [laughing] Mary’s not a wrestler, but she wears a bonnet.
Erik: Okay. Got it. Okay. Gotcha.
Ben: Sometimes in cold weather.
Erik: So it’s a warm, it’s an outdoor, exterior covering,
Ben: Exactly. Yep. That’s precisely what it is. I think I think it’s actually an old Quaker tradition. And ironically, at one time, I think they were considered “worldly”.
Erik: Bonnets.
Suspenders
Ben: Yeah. A little like suspenders were considered worldly. At one – yeah. It’s amazing what our labels do. “Worldly”, “plain”, you know. And how they change their meaning – somehow – over the years.
Erik: So in one era, you sitting there with your two suspenders would be considered a fancy – “fancy pants” guy. Literally fancy pants.
Ben: Absolutely. Yep.
Erik: That just rings a bell here too, because we did have a question. There was a photo that someone asked about, where there was a boy wearing a single suspender.
Now you wear two suspenders in Lancaster County. Who wears the single suspender? Because there are some Amish groups that do that, right?
Ben: Yeah. That’s a unique tradition in the Big Valley, Belleville. Central PA.
And I think it was – you know, Erik, I think it was related to the fact that, these worldly suspenders were becoming popular. And the element that is more conservative says, “well, maybe just one.” [laughter] “We could tolerate this.” And I’m totally serious about this – and it is very laughable. Yeah.
But the even more logical explanation for wearing suspenders is even more simple.
It’s, you know, “why do you why do you wear suspenders?” And that the most logical explanation that I could ever come up with…is to hold my pants up 🙂 You can’t argue with that logic, right?
Erik: Well, that’s the thing. Then people are gonna ask, well, why don’t you wear a belt, rather than suspenders? Suspenders in a way are more visible, and you could argue, well, you see them.
They’re maybe even a little – not showy. I don’t know if showy is the right word, but, you know, a belt kinda fits with the line of the pants. You know what I mean? I don’t wanna get too analytical…
Ben: Yeah – a belt was labeled “worldly”.
Erik: It just was labeled. It was labels, right?
Ben: Yeah. It’s amazing what our labels do.
Erik: At some point in time, someone decided, well, that’s associated with this maybe more progressive group or the majority, the public – that’s what they’re wearing, so we’re gonna…
Ben: Exactly. Then those opinions, they kind of grow. And then finally, they reach a critical mass, where you better get with the program, or you’re history.
I mean, that’s an exaggeration, but, you know, you feel like, well, you don’t want to be different, so you do what the critical mass says. I mean, us humans are funny, and our minds are just – and everybody does it. It’s a human experience.
Erik: It’s a human thing. It’s not an Amish thing, religious thing, plain group thing…
Ben: Those are expressions. All those things are expressions of that human thing, you know, different expressions of that human condition.
More with Ben:
- Ben Riehl shares his story
- Ben reacts to “Amish Memes”
- Why Don’t Amish Fly (Or Use Bikes)?
- Do Amish Bishops Make All The Rules?
- Do Amish Believe They’re The Only True Christians?
- “Amish babies take a little longer” – Ben on Amish Weddings & Finding Wives
- “Leave & You’re Doomed” (Do Amish Parents Really Teach This?)
Biblical basis for the beard.
Ben’s comment that most Amish men wear a beard simply because the Amish have always worn beards, is the answer many Amish might give but there are biblical commands to not shave a man’s face. In Leviticus chapter 19 verse 27 the King James reads ” ye shall not round the corners of your beards neither shalt thou mar the corners of the beard.” In Leviticus chapter 21 verse 5 it speaks to the pagan traditions of shaving off parts of the beard as something to be condemned. Chapter 21 of Leviticus starts out speaking about Aaron and the priests shall not defile themselves and one way they should not defile themselves in verse 5 says they shall not make baldness upon their head neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard or make any cuttings in their flesh. In 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 9 the Christian is called ” a chosen generation, a royal priesthood….”, being compared to the priesthood of Aaron. Today we might equate cuttings In the flesh as tattoos which of course originally were piercings of the flesh and putting ink in the flesh to make a tattoo. So to be holy unto the Lord requires obedience and in Hebrews the New testament tells us that God changes not but is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever).
In Deuteronomy chapter 22:5 it tells us that the woman should not wear that which pertains to the man and the man shall not put on a woman’s garment for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
This teaching is carried over into the New testament by the apostle Paul in several places such as 1 Corinthians 6:9 where people who look or act effeminate are condemned and called unrighteous. For a man who was given a hairy face by his creator to shave the hair off his face, is considered a form of rebellion by some believers, because he is trying to change his face into a smooth face of a woman. You may not get the average Amish man to discuss this in detail with you particularly in the English language but if you were able to attend Amish church services you might hear these things mentioned in German, or particularly Sunday afternoons when the men sit around discussing things among themselves, it is this type of scriptural doctrine which is often discussed and brought up as a reason for doing and living the way that the Amish live. And of course not all Amish are the same and not all believe the same so it is a lot easier for them to simply say “we’ve always done it this way” or we just wear the beard and not the mustache. The wearing of a mustache is generally considered as Ben said something that military people wore and therefore the Amish chose not to wear a mustache to help distinguish their resistance to the use of violence or force such as governments do with their military.
The fact that Jesus wore a beard is affirmed by the fact that they plucked the hairs from his face according to the prophet Isaiah in his prophecy about the Messiah found in chapter 50 verse 6 of Isaiah. “I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” This would seem to indicate Jesus was wearing a beard at the time of his crucifixion which was long enough to grab a handful of hair, and his followers are expected to be like him.
If anyone desires to read a religious tract on the subject of the beard the Holderman Mennonites put out a tract that explains their understanding of why they require men to let facial hair grow. Their churches can generally be identified with the name ” Church of God in Christ , Mennonite”, and generally have tracts available for free inside their Church buildings for anyone attending their services.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Leon, and the additional examples. So Ben did mention Leviticus in our conversation, but I took his comments to mean they (his church group at least) don’t consciously derive the same Biblical basis for the beard from these Old Testament passages, as they do something like the woman’s prayer covering – with its more explicit New Testament basis in places like 1 Corinthians.
That doesn’t mean that other Amish don’t put emphasis on those Old Testament verses and I don’t dispute that they discuss these passages – for instance as a reason to not trim their beards (at least for those Amish who follow that practice).
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How is it that you are able to take photos of the Amish? As with this interview- I didn’t think that was permitted.
thanks!