Heather: Tu'u Maia Lou Lima (Give Me Your Hand)

By Steven Anthony Yagyagan

A heart-wrenching and yet heartwarming story which takes place in American Sāmoa in 1959, where a Scottish-Sāmoan girl is born out of wedlock. She becomes the scapegoat for her parents’ sin, which sets off years of mental and physical abuse upon her. The abuse extends into her adult life and through four failed marriages. After 60 years of anguish, Heather is one of the few women and children abused everyday who has survived to share her story. Heather’s hope is that her story will help many like her around the world. Ironically, this book was published in April 2023, National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This story has many cultural, linguistic and psychological layers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven Anthony Yagyagan
• Release date: Apr 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215431412

Steven Anthony Yagyagan

Steve grew up on the North Shore of O'ahu (Hawai'i). He enjoys writing short stories and poetry. He loves the outdoors, especially ocean sports and hiking. He graduated from Leeward Community College with an Associate in Arts degree in Liberal Arts, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Communications from San Francisco State University, and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix.He also writes music. He is a vocalist, is a musician, voice over specialist and an actor. Watch for him in the upcoming movie, "Sometimes, We Fall in Love," which makes its debut May 2020 at the Cannes Film Festival. His SAG name is Steven Kane.Steve is married to his college sweetheart, Regina Bangalan. Together, they have a son, Matthew and a daughter, Gabrielle.

Book preview

D edication

Heather, Juju, Aiden, and Christian. YOU ARE LOVED!

A cknowledgment

Thank you, Heather, for entrusting me with your life story. I am honored that you have been persistent in asking me to tackle this huge undertaking.

Thank you to Heather ’ s friends and family who shared their memories of her.

Thank you, Adrianne Kristaa who created the beautiful artwork of the taupou , the Sāmoan girl, on the front cover.

A special thank you to Jesse Medina, Rose Woods, Jose Pereira, Reynila Calderon-Magbuhat, Brenda Gabriel, Gabriel Cornejo, Alison Lagua and Danilo Campos who are always up for the challenge to help me become a better writer. Thank you for being tough on me. I am forever grateful for all of you. I take full responsibility for any errors.

Finally, thank you for reading my book. I hope it motivates you to help others like Heather. This book was inspired by true events in Heather ’ s life. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. I have infused some of the Hawaiian Pidgin English (HPE) and other ethnic vernaculars in the story, because the true dialogue between the characters was much deeper with the linguistic nature of the family and the places in which they lived. In addition, I have also provided a list of characters and a glossary at the back of the

book as reference. If you ever wanted to learn HPE or if you plan to visit Hawai ’ i soon, you can learn some of it here. Take a moment to read the glossary in the back of the book before you start reading the story. You may want to or not. Otherwise, enjoy the story.

This is Heather ’ s story.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Chapter One The Hands Tell the Story

Chapter Two Third Wheel

Chapter Three Revelation

Chapter Four Faa Samoa

Chapter Five Good Christian Girls

Chapter Six A Teine is Born

Chapter Seven Moe Moe Pepe

Chapter Eight Sunday Best

Chapter Nine The Rescue

Chapter Ten Kawailoa

Chapter Eleven Chicken Dinner

Chapter Twelve Brother and Sister Bond

Chapter Thirteen Hands Are For Loving

Chapter Fourteen Big Girls Don’t Cry

Chapter Fifteen They’re Just Kids

Chapter Sixteen A Brother's Love

Chapter Seventeen Aloha O’e

Chapter Eighteen Sagara’s Okazuya

Chapter Nineteen Yamada’s Ice Cream & Shave Ice

Chapter Twenty Tama Leaga

Chapter Twenty-One Blood Lines

Chapter Twenty-Two Pinky

Chapter Twenty-Three Pua Mana & Auntie Daisy

Chapter Twenty-Four Faithfully?

Chapter Twenty-Five Jolly Rancher

******************

Chapter Twenty-Six Sister Power

Chapter Twenty-Seven Hold on to Love

Chapter Twenty-Eight Life’s Different Now

Chapter Twenty-Nine ‘Tween Years

Chapter Thirty Adulting It

Chapter Thirty-One An Act of Forgiveness

Chapter Thirty-Two Four Strikes and You’re Out

Chapter Thirty-Three  Choosebee

Save Your Innocence

~ Steven A. Yagyagan

Save a Life

References

Glossary

Cast of Characters

About the Author

Steven A. Yagyagan

C hapter One

The Hands Tell the Story

June 26, 1971. On a beautiful Saturday morning, at the foot of Mount Ka ’ ala lies a sleepy sugar plantation town called Waialua. The hot Hawaiian sun is beaming down from the heavens, but swirling trade winds from the Pacific Ocean cools the land below. Antonio and Manaia Campañano are preparing for their youngest daughter’s reception immediately after she is baptized at the Waialua United Church of Christ. On the other side of town, about two blocks away from the sugar mill, is the new annex, where the long-awaited reception is being held. Relatives and friends are buzzing about as they manage the final tasks for the huge luau, where 400 or so guests are expected. A band begins to play Sāmoan music as Manaia, a stout five-foot mother of four children, kicks off the celebration with a graceful dance. She dances to the live music being played by her cousins as her younger brother, Maleko, sings, Siva Siva Maia. From her hips to her fingertips, her head to her toes, Manaia tells a story, inviting others to dance with her. At twenty-eight years old, she is the youngest daughter in her ‘ aiga , or family. Her father, Tasi, is the matai , or high chief, of the Loimata ' aiga , and he usually expects Manaia to showcase every family event as the taupou , the ceremonial hostess who performs the Taualuga , the Taupou Sāmoa siva or dance. Tasi and his second wife, Sina, are seated at the front of the dance floor, watching Manaia’s every move. In Manaia’s ' aiga , everyone considered her the taupou , the chosen one, the princess, and daddy’s girl. Today will be much different. Tasi passed on Manaia and asked her to perform a common siva, a downgrade with which she cannot challenge. The matai ’ s word is final. Instead, Tasi requested for Heather, Manaia’s first-born daughter from a previous relationship in Sāmoa, to dance the Taualuga at today’s luau. Tasi’s heart was hurt too many times by Manaia’s questionable behavior from the age of sixteen through recent years. Now, he wants his granddaughter groomed to take over the reigns as his ' aiga ’ s new taupou . For today, Manaia sports a big smile on her face as her female cousins and aunts join in the siva with her. They glide into a V formation; a traditional orchestration Sāmoan women use when they siva. They are wearing the puletasi , a two-piece outfit consisting of a top and a skirt, with the top flared out a few inches at the waist. The patterns and colors vary from hues of brown tapa prints to bright blue and red floral prints. The kaleidoscope of femininity and tradition excites and enchants the audience as their hands are all flowing in unison like birds coasting through the wind. Their bare feet twist in and out, carrying them left and right as they occasionally tilt their heads while belting out a loud faaumu , a Sāmoan cheer, from the depths of their souls, Cheehoo! They make it a point to bow to the matai and his wife, who are seated in large rattan chairs, prominently positioned front and center with the rest of the guests.

Manaia has been married to Antonio for ten years now. Together, they produced three children, JJ, Clarice and Sera. Before Manaia met Antonio, or Tony, as he is called by family and friends, she gave birth to Heather eleven years earlier in American Samoa. Tony, on the other hand, had two daughters and two sons from three other women, two in the Philippines and one in Hawai ’ i. He left his family in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, in 1946. It all happened so fast. One of his buddies was set to join the Sakadas , the last group of Filipinos to sail to Hawaii, but he had a change of heart at the last minute and convinced Tony to take his place. Tony was told it would be a temporary job and that he would return after a few years to his wife and children. What was meant to be a short-term event ended up being a life-changing one. Tony never returned to his family. He boarded the Maunawili steamship and never looked back. Some of his friends chose to live and work on the island of Kauai, and others went on to Maui, Moloka ’ i, Lana ’ i and the Big Island of Hawai ’ i. Tony, his cousin Macario, their other relatives and friends ended up signing contracts to work on O ’ ahu, where they all became naturalized American citizens. Some of them worked on the pineapple plantations, and others, like Tony, ended up here on the Waialua Sugar Plantation, where he chose to marry Manaia in 1960 and start a new family with her.

Today, Tony and Manaia are celebrating the baptism of their youngest child, Sera. While Manaia is dancing the Sāmoan siva inside the community annex before four-hundred or so family and friends, Tony is backing his gray Chevy pick-up truck into the rear driveway. He hops out of the cab, walks to the back, and unlatches the truck ’ s gate to reveal a crispy and freshly roasted three-hundred- fifty-pound pig. Several of his compadres help him carry the pig inside and begin to cut the piping hot pig into bite-sized chunks.

Directly behind Tony and his crew are his Sāmoan in-laws parsing out another pig that was cooked in an umu , a homemade underground oven. Tony and his compadres slow-roasted the first pig the Ilocano way on a motorized spit revolving over hot coals from seven PM last night until ten AM this morning. Filipinos call the suckling roast pig lechon . The pig prepared Sāmoan style in the umu is tender and juicy inside and out, and the meat falls off of the bone. The pig-prepared lechon style has a thick, crispy skin on the outer layer and tender, aromatic meat on the inside that was seasoned with Hawaiian rock salt, black pepper and other spices. As always, Tony and Manaia have shared their Sāmoan and Ilocano cultures with family and friends in Hawai ’ i. Being exposed to this fusion, their children went a step further as they learned to fuse both cultures along with all the other cultures surrounding them - Hawaiian, Japanese, Puerto Rican, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese and American cultures.

The Campañano children were quick to embrace the food, language and customs of these other cultures. They simply flowed with all of it. As complicated as it appeared to others around them, the nuances of other cultures were intriguingly beautiful and natural for them to embrace. At this point in their lives, Heather was the eldest of the four children, and she took it upon herself to love and protect them, kind of like how a mother hen protects her chicks. She was the Taurus in the family, and although she could be stubborn at times, it would only be because she was passionate and loyal to those she dearly loved. She was a natural-born leader, confident and decisive. Even though she and her young half siblings shared the same mother and different fathers, Heather loved them without any reservations. As a matter of fact, she was so protective of them that oftentimes, she took the blame for her siblings ’ faults, especially her younger brother, JJ.

JJ is the Gemini, the curious one, the spoiled one. From birth, JJ was placed on a pedestal, treated like a prince, the one who was expected to take over his grandfather ’ s matai title one day. He was treated as if he was the only boy, even though he truly wasn ’ t the only one. He got just about anything he wanted. All he had to do was ask.

Clarice was the quiet one, the Virgo like her mom. She was a year younger than JJ, but the two operated as if they were close

fraternal twins, sharing the same set of friends and doing things together. She was a quiet, unassuming soul. Yet, if she was pushed too far, she had quick hands, and she would never hesitate to take a knife to you.

The youngest, Sera, the Sagittarius. She is seven months old, and she is the celebrant for which today ’ s baptismal luau is held. Family and friends are excited because Sera comes eight years after Clarice was born. Her birth came as a surprise to Tony and Manaia, but they are ecstatic to celebrate her addition to the Campañano family.

As you wander throughout the annex, you can feel the buzz in the air. More guests are still pouring through the double doors. Others are already enjoying the Sāmoan entertainment portion of the show. Filipino musicians are setting up a rondalla , complete with mandolins, guitars, a drum set and other indigenous instruments from the Philippines. Two long tables sit parallel in the kitchen and are filled end-to-end with Filipino and Sāmoan culinary delicacies like Pork guisantes, pinakbet, lechon, baked taro, baked ulu, palusami, pancit canton, lumpia, and more. The dessert table was filled with mouthwatering delights like pani popo, fa ’ ausi, turon, tupig, bibingka, and karioca.

Fofoga, Manaia ’ s aunt, is spotted running outside of the hall, looking for Heather. Foga, as she is called by the ' aiga , is Tasi ’ s younger sister. Hecka! Hecka, Foga calls as she shields her eyes with her hands from the sun. She doesn ’ t see Heather, so she runs to the other side of the building and calls out again, " Hecka! Sau ! Come now! She stops, looks left, looks to the right and shakes her head, annoyed that she can ’ t find the girl. Fofoga runs around the back of the building and calls out again, Hecka! Hecka! Sau ii ! Heather and her siblings hear her, and they spot her immediately. They lower themselves behind the mock orange bush, covering their mouths from laughing so Foga can ’ t see them. Foga has a naturally high- pitched nasal soprano tone, which comes across as annoyingly comedic to the children that they never take her seriously - and it always pisses off Fofoga. Foga continues to call out for Heather, in an even higher-pitched and forceful tone, HECKA! SAU II ! You kotta dance next!" Suddenly, Heather realizes she has to get dressed for the Taualuga , the epitome of Sāmoan performance art forms. In Heather ’ s family, they refer to it as the princess dance. She hands Sera to JJ and runs around to the other side of the building, where the dressing room is located.

She jumps into her cousin Ana ’ s arms. Whew, and catches her breath. In her Hawaiian Pidgin English, Heather extends an offer to her cousin Ana, Eh, cuz, you like gum, she pauses to catch her breath and chew her own gum, I get two kine, Spearmint and Juicy Fruit. She holds up each pack of gum one at a time, Which one you like?

Hmmm, Ana is looking at each of the packs, and she really can ’ t decide, I like Juicy Fruit, but I like Spearmint too. Ugh!

Meanwhile, Heather is getting a tad bit annoyed, watching Ana ’ s eyes bounce back and forth between the Spearmint and the Juicy Fruit packs. She taps Ana on the head, " Eh, sistah, no be choosebee !"

Ana laughs, Uh, chooze-bee, girl? Really, she moves her head back and forth like a duck, Choozebee?

Not knowing she created a whole new word, Heather shakes her head, Yeah! Dass right, cuzzy? Heather stretches out her newly formed word for Ana while expanding both her hands as if she is pulling something apart, " Chooooose beeeee ! Then, she closes with a pointed five syllable phrase in staccato fashion, while tapping the older and slightly taller Ana on her left shoulder, No be choosebee , girl!"

Ana is holding her stomach from laughing so hard, Cuzzy dear, I believe the word is, Choosy."

Again, Heather ignores Ana, but she is confident enough to school Ana with a variety of choices, " Choosy, choose bee, choosybee, same smell, girlfriend. Too bad you no undahstan English." Heather pauses and stares at Ana with an impatient look on her face. She bounces both knees quickly and rushes Ana to

make a decision now, "C ’ mon, cuz, just pick one. Heck, take two, if you like. I no cayah !"

Ana grabs one of each, and she motions to Heather that she sees the matriarch coming. She whispers, Eh! No look now! Gramma ’ s coming, and she not smiling.

Heather ’ s shoulders drop, " Oh dang! Me and JJ dem was laughing at Auntie Foga until I figured out she was looking for me. Eck! Whatevah !"

The six-foot tall, Sāmoan grandmother, who is built like a rock wall, walks up to the girls. As the spouse of a matai, Sina holds the faletua title, the first lady, a position which is highly revered in Sāmoan culture. She plants her size twelve calloused feet just a few steps away from them, and with her towering, intimidating body, she points at Heather, Eh Heta! I send Fofoga to look fo you! Where you hiding?

Looking up at Grandma Sina, Heather apologizes, ‘ Sorry, gramma. I was watching da baby."

Sina hands over the dance costume to Ana, " Okay, fine. Ana, help me dress dis girl.

" Ioe , tināmatua . Ana quickly opens up the wardrobe as she directs Heather, Stand closah , cuz."

Sina grabs the ‘ ie toga , made of finely woven mat, the sega , a collared lory for her body wrap, the vala , a tape sash to hold together the mat; and the tuiga , the feathered headdress. She brings it back to where the two girls are standing. Quickly, Ana frantically helps Sina quickly dress Heather for her Taualuga number.

Sina kneels to the floor, and looks up at Heather, Stand straight! And don ’ t moof while we put on yo outfit!

" Yes, gramma ," Heather replies as she stands as stiff as a stick. Sina carefully wraps the finely woven mat around Heather ’ s body, secures it with the tapa sash and gently places the tuiga on Heather ’ s head. Ana pours some baby oil on her hands and begins to smother Heather ’ s face, arms and legs with it. She snickers at Heather, looks up at the ceiling, pretending it was the sky, extends her right hand up, out and across, Because you need to shine like a star, cuzzy.

The faletua cuts them off, Shhh. Keepy still! Sina takes out her red lipstick and dots Heather ’ s cheeks with it. She rubs it around to give it a rosy look. Ana steps back to look at the young taupou in training, walks around her, and fixes the back of her outfit by pulling and tucking it down and in a bit. She stands back, right hand overlapping her left hand showing a sign of subservience and respect to her grandmother, and looks up at Sina for her approval. Sina nods her head, points to an open area in the room and tells Ana, Help her practice da siva.

Ioe, tinamatua ." Ana acknowledges the faletua the wife of the matai, respectfully.

Sina stares at Ana, " Shhh! I ’ m not an old lady yet, huh? Juss

call me, tinā ! "

Ana nods respectfully, Ioe, tinā .

As the matriarch begins to rise up to her feet ever so slowly, she straightens out her puletasi , turns and makes her way back to her seat while fixing her hair bun. Ana sighs with relief. She looks at Heather, Okay, cuzzy, stand up straight. Let ’ s do a quick run- through. The two girls start dancing in unison.

Suddenly, one of the male cousins peeps his head through the door, Eh! Heddah! Gramma said come now. Yo, siva is next.

Ana takes a quick moment to take one last look over Heather ’ s attire and hair. She fixes her headpiece and kisses her on the forehead, You ’ re gonna do just fine, cuzzy! I goin’ be standing right there watching you. Just look at me if you get scared. Okay? Heather nods her head with her long strawberry-blonde hair bouncing in the air. Ana leads Heather to the doorway, " Kakou ’ o ! Let ’ s go, cuz!"

As Heather struts up to the dance floor, she hears the thunderous roar of fauumus and applause from her male cousins as she begins to feel the butterflies begin to grow and flutter in her tummy. She nods at the boys as they pass her by on their exit. She pinches her nose to avoid puking her guts out from their sweaty body odor, the after-effect of their fast-paced Fa ’ ataupati , the Sāmoan Slap Dance. They beam with exhaustion and self-inflicted red slap- marks around their chest and legs. Now, it is Heather ’ s turn to add to the anticipated festivities. Heather paces herself to the center of the dance floor. She looks at Ana. Ana can see the poor girl is nervous, so she motions her hands to smile. Heather paints her best nervous smile as she glances around at the crowd to see who ’ s watching. She looks to the front at the matai and his faletua , exhales, then inhales slowly. She closes her eyes for a few seconds to block out any negative distractions. Now, the room is quiet and all eyes are on this young budding taupou as she mentally cues herself for the start of the song.

The music begins, " O Le Taualuga , O Le Taualuga …" Heather gracefully bends at her knees and bows to her grandparents seated in their wicker chairs. As she rises slowly, her outstretched hands form a big open circle as she bows once again, this time, slowly to the matai and his faletua , and begins her dance. Her long and slender fingers caress the still air as she does the se ’ e with her slow-moving bare feet twisting like little windshield wipers, allowing her to appear as though she is gliding across the floor. The fau ’ umus are coming from all directions, and with that comes the greenbacks, lots of it, from every corner of the room. One after another, the crowd gasps and cheers. Heather ’ s aunts and uncles join in with her on the dance floor two at a time, each one taking only a few seconds each as they toss their bills near the center of the dance floor. They do a little siva and bow to her as they exit the dance floor. Everyone is in awe at how this little afakasi girl could perform the taualuga in front of her grandfather and scrupulous grandmother. Tasi is smiling from ear-to-ear. His emotions get the best of him, but he is a proud matai and retired sergeant from the U.S. Marines, and he was trained to maintain a stern composure. Still, his eyes are visibly watery, and he has a solid grin from ear to ear. He appeared to be very pleased with her elegant performance. Unfortunately, his