Aiyana

Hakan

Hakan
When I was born, my parents had named me Hakan, meaning fire, because of my golden eyes, which were considered an anamoly among our people.
The white folk however gave me another name, Savage.

The land I was born in was called Manna-hata or the island of the hills,the white folk called it New York City.
I thought perhaps they lacked intellectual abilities.

Ever since then, our tribe was forced to move from place to place because the white folk wanted more land. I felt sorry for them because they clearly did not know how to make use of the land.

I offered to teach them once but they threatened to kill me with the most peculiar weapon which I later found out was called a gun. I forgave them for I understood how they must feel ashamed seeing a little child possess more knowledge than them.

I however did not forgive them when they beat my sister Chenoa for taking an apple from a tree on a land which until recently had been our home.

I was afraid of the gun so I had gone to the establishment of one of the white men who hit my sister and took all the fruits from all the trees he grew on his land.

I had come back home only to find that my sister had left termites on the land of the other man who had hit her.

Chenoa means white dove symbolising peace, my sister however is far from peaceful. She is the force which can light up an entire land, even one as dull as that of the white people.

She was born 3 years after me but is still one of the strongest warriors we have. And she loves to test her strength on me.

She takes after my mother, a fierce soul and my father,Eluwilussit, the chief of our tribe.

When I was younger, I had thought the white folk lacked intellectual abilities, as I grew up I realised that though there is a dearth of intellect in them, they are also cruel.
They would mercilessly beat our people, kidnap the children and shingle their hair.
But we are not the ones to stay quiet. We fight back when we can,in our own ways and otherwise try to stay away from them.

In our tribe, Alona or oak trees, are considered holy. The new land that we were forced into had only one Alona.
According to our tradition, different boys are chosen to protect different oak trees on the land we live. Since this land had only one oak tree, a difficult choice had to be made.

I eventually was chosen as the protector. They said it was because I was the chief's son but I figured it was because I was the mightiest and the best looking among all.

My sister said I think too highly of myself.
I told her to Ch'iidii [fu*k herself].
I do adore her but I loathe dishonesty because honesty is my highest virtue.

It was a bright day when Mother Nature was extra generous with her heat, an year ago, when I had first met her.

The oak tree I protected from the tyranny of the white was closer to the white settlement than our land. I had to be extra cautious while guarding the tree but since the 2 years we had come to this land, none of the people had tried to harm Alona.

However on that day, a girl sat on one of the branches high up on the tree, my usual spot. There was something about her which was different than the other whites. Our people are known to be a good judge of character. We can sense if a person can be trusted by simply looking at them. That girl I saw could be trusted.

She had hair the colour of the most beautiful mahagony tree and eyes like hazelnuts. Among our people, the hazel colour symbolised the brave and those who are always looking for adventures.