Chapter 4
The Tribunal of the Waters
Every Thursday at noon, eight farmers in black smocks sit outside the Apostles' Door of Valencia Cathedral and settle the week's water disputes. No lawyers speak, nothing is written down, and the ruling is final.12
The síndics are elected by the irrigators of each canal for two-year terms. A síndic whose own canal is party to a dispute must leave his chair, and the remaining seven decide.


