Open AccessGender, Kinship and Lifecycle Rituals in Cuba
Author(s) -
Heidi Härkönen
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
suomen antropologi
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.141
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 1799-8972
pISSN - 0355-3930
DOI - 10.30676/jfas.116658
Subject(s) - kinship , baptism , state (computer science) , gender studies , sociology , class (philosophy) , scale (ratio) , gender relations , fictive kinship , genealogy , political science , geography , anthropology , history , epistemology , law , cartography , philosophy , algorithm , computer science
This report discusses the efforts of state powers to inflict large-scale societal transformations on local gender and kinship by exploring the relationship between matrifocal gender and kinship structure and the socialist state in Cuba. Cuban gender and kinship relations are approached not only by examining the kinds of daily social interactions that took place amongst ‘lower-class’ Havanian informants, but also via the types of lifecycle rituals celebrated in Cuba: Catholic baptism, girls’ quince-party, weddings and funerals. The report indicates an intriguing contrast between the, in-practice, very mother-centred gender andkinship relations, and the revolutionary state symbology manifesting an idea of a metaphoric patriliny.
Keywords: Cuba, gender, kinship, matrifocality, life-cycle rituals