The reason for the new Cuban quince routine isn’t to set up her having relationship, but also for sex-life and you may through that it, potentially so you can breeding and you may motherhood
Throughout the shows of your quince ritual, brand new girl’s sexuality isn’t directed to a one solitary son who portray their husband to be, but rather toward people overall, worrying this lady standing since the another, but really heterosexually-dependent seductress. That it commonly turned into obvious contained in this a-year or two of the routine due to the fact quite a few of my personal young informants had a tendency to become pregnant on the palms, maybe not a spouse. Motherhood does not require wedding from the Caribbean as well as the while making of a woman into a totally gendered, heterosexual adult lady is far more important than just the lady joining a man in-marriage. The mother of lady plays a highly special role into the this action, the cause of which is exposed in the Cuban kinship structure.
Quince and you may Caribbean Matrifocality
Quince – given that a ritual created by female, and you may celebrating Cuban lady as potentially reproductive seductresses – are attached to the Cuban kinship framework, and the fresh matrifocal kinship construction mainly common from the Caribbean. 18
Kinship relationships certainly one of my personal Cuban informants was indeed characterised of the a strong matrifocal interest, a feature which is recognized to denote Caribbean communities inside the a more general sense. 19 If you’re matrifocality provides usually started appointed because an enthusiastic Afro-Caribbean loved ones setting specifically (age.grams. Clarke 1974: 75, 131; Smith 1974: xi), other article authors view it because characterising kinship relationships in the area a whole lot more generally (age.g. Safa 2005). I noted zero like ‘racial’ or ‘ethnic’ variations in Cuban kinship interactions, because showed, for example, from the fact really families one of my personal informants was in fact highly ‘mixed’ when it comes to body the colour. On such basis as my personal fieldwork, I have a look at Cuban kinship relations having a powerful matrifocal inclination a great deal more essentially (come across also ibid.).
Regarding ancient definition of the new Caribbean matrifocality formulated by the Roentgen.T. Smith, it is number one your girl in her part because mommy gets the latest center off relatives (1996a: 42). Since the family relations depend on the relationship between your mommy and the guy, fathers often have pupils in numerous other house, while the ladies will often have each of their youngsters living with her or him (Olwig 1996: 138). Guys are often seen as marginalised as the fathers, nevertheless the fuel of consanguine bond means they are faithful once the sons, brothers and uncles (Smith 1974: xi; Smith 1996a: 14). The point that the daddy is frequently ‘missing’ from the household members build (we.e. the guy lives in other places) creates a standard focus on matrilateral kinship interactions. 20 That the standard stress from kinship connections is found on this new mommy are emphasised in the way in which my Cuban informants tend to emphasised an important duty of your own mom more college students having a great proverb stating: “mom is only one and the dad whoever” (madre es una sola y padre cualquiera 2007).
From the strong focus on motherhood, it is the girls’ adolescence routine that is worth focusing on in the Cuban people. Lifecycle traditions create especially obvious the newest main societal divisions out of a great people (come across van Gennep 1960), and so they also can depict 1st societal beliefs from a society (pick elizabeth.g. Huntington & Metcalf 1979: 2). Lifecycle rituals therefore connect in crucial suggests for the build out of kinship relationships, because inside them the 
social categories and you can viewpoints relevantly determining social existence was rendered such apparent.
Girls’ changeover with the fully gendered and you will sexual grownups are main as of their extremely important role as the parents on the kin construction. When it is transformed into an older mature the lady is also changed into a potential mother. This might be high with the girl’s mommy because growth of the brand new matrifocal kin classification accelerates this lady reputation just like the a mind off the fresh kin classification. This woman is valued as she will be able to claim to keeps delivered various other affiliate ready expanding brand new matrifocal kinship framework. Due to this quince is really so essential brand new girl’s mom, as to why she’s congratulated privately from their daughter and you will often holds a main status throughout the organisation of affair. This benefits the girl 15 years out-of work in the elevating out of this lady and you can can make their at some stage in tomorrow, a possible granny or great grandmother, the brand new known direct out of an excellent matrifocal kin group. 21