Moca

The Moca are sedentary Homo spargere people who live in Mocaczea, Mavjekmau, (iñphijte iiður cuñtrís híar).

=Origin= The Moca descend from the nomadic Sumnė people of the Sumric Golden Age who transitioned from a nomadic hunter-gatherer society to a semisedentary agricultural society which relied on the slash and burn method. This transition was due to the Khyldau disease which marked the end of the Sumric Golden Age. With large swathes of prey species falling victim to the disease people had to seek alternative sources of food. The ancestors of the Moca originally couldn't farm for the poor soil of the taiga did not allow for crops. This was worked around by creating forest fires to burn large portions of the taiga. The ash left behind would enrich the soil so that crops could be grown.



As for the actual crops themselves the Moca did not domesticate any plants on their own. Rather some shamans who would make pilgrimages to Meilvarestu managed to obtain seeds from the people there which were then shared amongst the Proto-Moca to farm with. Some bold shamans even managed to get some livestock from the Mangeodge although only the hardiest of species survived the continent wide journey back to where the Proto-Moca lived. Tiny herds of deer for meat were introduced and they would go on to become the ancestors of the whole domestic deer population of the Moca countries, hence the lack of genetic diversity among them compared to their ancestral populations in Meilvarestu. The slash and burn technique employed by the Moca meant that the population had to keep searching for new forests to burn once they had exhausted the local soil, this led to the great Moca expansion and is the reason why they inhabit half of the continent's land area.



As the population spread they often came into contact with small groups of nomads who either were forced to move elsewhere to hunt or assimilate with the Moca. Most notably the Kionc people experienced early contact and partly assimilated, taking on the Old Moca language (albeit with a Kheldre substrate) although they remained culturally distinct from the Moca.





=Name= The term "Moca" is the ethnonym as used in the Luabian language. It comes from the Old Moca ethnonym mọ̄kān which itself comes form the Old Sumrë munkӑӑn ("unable to be angered"). This name comes from association with the pink lady's slipper flower (Cypripedium acaule) which the Sumnė believed had the ability to moderate anger. They also believed that it could heal hydrophobia and dispel illusions so when the Khyldau disease spread (one major symptom is hydrophobia) this flower became used regularly, especially by people living in the taiga forests where it grew. Quickly after the disease spread to the ancestors of the Moca the flower was seen as an important part of a healthy life. Since another of its supposed properties was reducing anger the people believed themselves to be calmer and so they took the name "unable to be angered". The flower remains an important symbol in Moca culture today, appearing on the national flag of Mocaczea and being synonymous with Moca identity in general.