Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-07-13
ECCENTRIC OMISH SECT,
A RELIGIOUS ORDER WITH MANY
QUEER PRACTICES,

on by Proxy Through the Agency of
the Elders-women May Not Trim
Their Hats or Gowns.
: Cissna Park, H., has an eccentric
Religious sect which forbids its male
members to wear neckties, cultivate a
mustache, smoke, vote or go court
ing. Women are enioined from wear
ing trimmings of any kind on their
hats. Not even a very little ribbon or
chicken feather is allowed. Fash
ion magazines are looked upon as
tempting lures sent out by the Evil
One, and any sister who dares to sew
a ruffie on her skirt is disciplined an d
made the subject of special prayer.
By outsiders this strange sect is
called Omish. The members resent
this, however, and call themselves the
Christian apostolic or German Church.
There are about 1000 members in the
church, nearly all farmers, and all
noted for their sobriety, frugality and
strict honesty. They live as dis
tinct little commonwealth set down
on the Illinois prairie, and governed
entirely by church law. In fact, it is
grave misdemeanor for any member
of the congregation to appeal to the
State authorities in the settlement of
any disputes. Differences which
among other people would lead to
lawsuits ore decided by o council of
the elders of the church
The members dress in the plainest
of clothes. The women wear small
black aprons over calico dresses.
Their headgear consists of black
straw sailor hat entirely devoid of
trimming The men are nearly all
clean shaven. They are permitted to
wear boards, but not mustaches. The
mustache is under a ban, as the elders
say it conduces to vanity and the
dreadful pride which goes before a
fall.
Courtship is away below par among
the Omish of Cissna Park. The only
opportunity young man has for
choosing partner for life from among
them is by casting sleeps eyes across
the broad aisle which separate the men
and women worshipers in church on
Sunday. He may not ask to see her
home from meeting, and burning out
coal in the parlor crate on Sunday
evenings is considered rank heresy.
After the rustic swain among the
Omishes has in some way picked out
the girl he thinks he might like to
marry he confdes in one of the elders
of the church. The elder in turn
tells the father of the girl, and the
father, if he approves of the match,
gives the elders message TO the
daughter. If her answer is favorable
the prospective wedding is announced
in church the next Sunday If her
answer is unfavorable the young man
is supposed to renounce all hope in
that direction aud look somewhere
else for a marital partner.
The only proper way to salute one
another among the Omishes is by kiss
ing. Shaking hands is considered a
cold ana soulless method of greeting,
aud is one of the forms of punishm ent
visited upon a recalcitrant church
member. On Sunday mornings q
cody disciple, not too young and good
looking, stations himself at the outer
door of the church and kisses all mem
bers in good standing as they go away.
If he skips brother or a sister it is
the cause of gossip Immediately, and
it is understood that there has been
grave infraction of rules.
Saturday is market day and then
there is q continuous osculatory per-
Torrance going on in the streets of the
little village. The men embrace and
kiss each other, and the women like
wise kiss only the members of their
own sex.
Sunday service at the church begins
early and lasts all day. The food is
cooked and served at the meeting
house, and strangers are always well
come. The elders are very strict in
enforcing their church discipline.
They order penances for all offenses.
One of the most ordinary punishments,
inflicted for minor offenses, such as
pride, Boosting, etc, is to condemn the
culprit to attend meeting on foot. No
matter what the condition of the roads,
if the elders so decree, any toplofty
young man who persists in wearing
neckties or patent leather shoes will
be compelled to trudge to church on
foot. The girl that he had decided to
mention to the elder may drive by in
carriage, and she may look at him
with scorn, but he has to grin and
bear it in silence.
If a member falls under the ban of
the elders he is boycotted by his fell
lowmembers. They refuse to buy his
corn, they won't attend his wife's
cuttings, and refuse to hold any in
tercourse with him until he expiates
his offense.
The members of the Omish sect take
no part in politics, and never vote.
They do not employ physicians. They
never use tobacco, but drink a good
deal of wine and beer. They abhor
secret societies. Reading newspapers
is not strictly forbidden, but is con-
sidered frivolous andrisky. They are
opposed to war under any circum-
stances. Nearly all of the Omishes
are prosperous farmers, many of them