Macaré People

The Macaré are an Avalonian ethnic group indigenous to Cervera. Present in the region for approximately 5,000 years, the Macaré civilization built a large and powerful empire around the Macaré River, which reached the height of its power ca. 1400 AD. Internal conflict and poor harvests led to a gradual decline in the empire prior to Artemian contact in the early 17th century; disease exchange and war with the Agranian conquistadors further depleted their numbers. The establishment of the Viceroyalty of Cervera in 1640 formally ended the existence of an independent Macaré polity, though the culture continued to endure despite efforts of forced assimilation by the Agranian colonists and their descendants. Efforts from within the Macaré community as well as the Directivist government since the 1960s have produced a resurgence of interest in and preservation of language, traditions and culture.

Etymology
The name Macaré is an exonym of the Macaré language waShinta taMaakaré, which translates as "people of the great river/water," referring to the Macaré River and its basin which provided the traditional homeland of the Macaré.

Ethnogenesis
The origins of the Macaré are a matter of intense debate, as DNA studies on extant descendants have proven inconclusive. Macaré oral histories record that the civilization has always resided in the fertile basin surrounding the river, though efforts to map Avalonian migration have tended to argue for an in-migration from the north or south of the continent. The "Northern School" approach was favored in the early 19th to mid-20th centuries owing to some physical similarities between the Macaré and Tilennans, though DNA studies have since demonstrated that the two groups are not closely related. More recent links to a proposed migration from present-day Kaya and SiWallqanqa have been proposed, though research into the matter is still ongoing.

Lifestyle
The Macaré historically were a semi-aquatic people, dependent upon the river for agriculture, fish and trade; those clans located in the lower basin of the river occasionally constructed floating villages on rafts which were used to ply the waters for trade. Clan structure was matrilineal, with women holding authority over economic and religious matters and men being responsible for labor and warfare; in times of crisis, an elder male would be appointed as a temporary war-chief but held no political authority in himself.