Page "Earth's Children" Paragraph 43

Sexual maturity is the subject of semi-religious customs among the Others, both of which take place at Summer Meetings.

Every year, women volunteer to become sexual tutors to boys who have reached maturity ; the name of their office changes from culture to culture, but they are generally furnished with some distinguishing marking, often the Mother's sacred color red ( red dye on the soles of the feet for the Mamutoi ; a red fringe among the Zelandonii ).

These women are often pregnant by the end of the summer, which is believed to be the Great Earth Mother smiling upon their piety.

Young women who have reached menarche, on the other hand, are the subject of a far more formal ceremony called First Rites, in which she is ritually deflowered by a man ( often specially chosen by her friends and family ).

Both these relationships are meant to be solely physical, and social contact between the involved parties is frowned upon for at least a year afterwards.

Finally, during " Mother Festivals " which take place at various times of the year, men and women are free to copulate with whomever they choose.

Once again, these polygamous practices blur the lines of heredity, and descent is generally traced only through one's mother.

However, certain familial resemblances have been noticed ( for instance, Jondalar looks almost identical to Dalanar, his mother's spouse at the time of Jondalar's conception ), which has led to the belief that the Great Earth Mother chooses the " spirit " or " essence " of a nearby man to impregnate the woman with.

Ayla's more accurate belief that children are the result of sexual activity is treated with skepticism among the Others: their women are seldom celibate, which makes the connection between sex and pregnancy harder to isolate.