Adaawk as Legal Memory
Adaawk are the living legal record of the Tsm’syen.
They are not myths, teachings, or stories told for entertainment. They are records of law, title, responsibility, consequence, and continuity.
Adaawk carry law across generations when written systems fail, disappear, or are corrupted.
Nature of Adaawk
Adaawk record:
- The origin of names, houses, and crests
- Lawful relationships between peoples and territories
- Agreements, conflicts, and resolutions
- Transfers of responsibility and authority
- Consequences of violating Ayaawk
Each Adaawk exists because something happened that required law to respond.
Nothing is added without cause. Nothing is remembered without reason.
Adaawk as Binding Law
Adaawk are legally binding within Tsm’syen law.
They establish:
- Territorial boundaries and use rights
- Authority of name holders
- Obligations carried by houses and clans
- Precedents for resolving future disputes
Law does not begin anew with each generation. Adaawk prevent law from being reinvented for convenience.
Witnessing and Verification
Adaawk are not private memories.
They are maintained through:
- Public recounting
- Witness confirmation
- Feast hall acknowledgment
- Consistency across houses and clans
A false Adaawk cannot survive sustained witnessing.
Accuracy is preserved through collective memory, not individual control.
Names as Legal Continuity
When a name is taken, the person does not replace the past holder.
They embody the same legal person.
Through names:
- Legal authority continues across centuries
- Responsibilities remain intact
- Past actions remain accountable
This continuity prevents erasure of obligation and prevents personal ownership of power.
Adaawk and Territory
Adaawk are title records.
They describe:
- How land was acquired or entrusted
- Why a house holds authority in a territory
- What responsibilities accompany that authority
- What happens when those responsibilities are violated
Territory is not owned. It is held in trust through Adaawk.
Oral Law and Written Record
Adaawk are oral by nature.
Written recordings may assist memory, but they do not replace:
Written law may be lost, altered, or misinterpreted. Adaawk persist through people, not paper.
Protection Against Distortion
Adaawk cannot be selectively extracted, simplified, or reinterpreted without consequence.
Removing context destroys legal meaning.
Using Adaawk to justify harm, exclusion, or domination violates Ayaawk and invalidates authority.
Modern Recording
This framework records Adaawk for:
Recording does not convert Adaawk into foreign law. It preserves Tsm’syen law in its own terms.
Continuity
Adaawk bind the past, present, and future.
They ensure that:
- No generation escapes responsibility
- No authority exists without history
- No law exists without memory
Adaawk are not stories we tell. They are law that remembers.