Shared Ayaawk is articulated
Ayaawk is shared across the Tsm’syen Nation, but it is not assumed, implied, or silently enforced.
Shared Ayaawk must be clearly articulated, witnessed, and understood.
Meaning
Shared Ayaawk refers to those principles of law that:
- Apply across houses and clans
- Govern inter-house relations
- Protect collective balance and continuity
- Prevent harm between distinct authorities
It does not erase house-specific Ayaawk. It provides a common legal ground between them.
Legal Principle
What is shared must be spoken.
No rule, obligation, or restriction may be treated as binding across houses unless it has been:
- Clearly articulated
- Lawfully witnessed
- Recognized by the houses it affects
Unspoken law has no binding force beyond the house that carries it.
Articulation
Articulation of shared Ayaawk occurs through:
- Feast halls and witnessing
- Formal declarations between houses
- Recorded Adaawk and legal statements
- Repeated and consistent public recognition
Silence does not create law. Assumption does not create authority.
Limits
Shared Ayaawk may not be used to:
- Override house-specific law
- Absorb house jurisdiction into centralized control
- Impose uniformity where difference is lawful
- Justify administrative convenience over legal clarity
Shared law coordinates authority — it does not replace it.
Protection Against Drift
When shared Ayaawk is not articulated:
- Authority drifts toward central bodies
- Custom is mistaken for law
- Power accumulates without accountability
- Houses lose clarity over rights and duties
Articulation prevents erosion.
Continuity
Each generation must re-articulate shared Ayaawk.
This ensures:
- Law remains living, not frozen
- Consent remains active
- Meaning is not reinterpreted by outsiders
- Unity is maintained without coercion
Shared Ayaawk survives through clarity, not assumption.