Living witnesses
Living witnesses
Living witnesses are people who carry, remember, and affirm what has occurred. They are part of the law itself.
In Tsm’syen legal order, authority and accountability do not exist without witnesses.
Who are living witnesses
Living witnesses may include:
- elders
- name holders
- house members
- invited witnesses from other houses or communities
They are chosen because they are trusted to remember accurately and speak truthfully.
What living witnesses do
Living witnesses:
- observe decisions, agreements, and transfers of authority
- confirm that protocol was followed
- remember obligations created by the event
- speak when memory must be recalled
Their role does not end when the event ends.
Living witnesses as enforcement
Living witnesses are not passive observers. They are the mechanism by which law remains active.
If responsibilities are violated, living witnesses may:
- recall what was promised
- challenge false claims of authority
- support intervention or correction
- affirm loss of legitimacy when duty is broken
Silence by witnesses is itself meaningful. Speech is deliberate.
Relationship to adaawk
Adaawk records events across generations. Living witnesses carry those records in the present.
Together they form:
- continuity of law
- protection against revision or erasure
- accountability across time
Written records may fade. Living witnesses speak.
Limits of authority without witnesses
Authority claimed without witnesses is weak. Authority contradicted by witnesses is contested.
Without living witnesses:
- agreements lose force
- violations go unanswered
- law becomes vulnerable to reinterpretation
Core principle
Law lives in people. As long as witnesses live, responsibility remains visible.