An Indigenous Anthem for Change
Image credit: Frances Carter
I cannot breathe please step off of my chest
Loosen the noose tightening round my neck
I wish for freedom and to sing my song
We’re prisoners on the very land we’re from
Baldhead you’re so well fed on my destruction
Fetishize our women, silence our children
Plunder my motherland, pollute the sea
But still I survive though you clip my wings
Baldhead you tricked us with your treaty
Baldhead your king sits high on his throne
He listens to his people, not to my own
Framed as a savage I’m burned at the stake
A woman’s a witch yes it’s her that you hate
How dare you put shame upon my skin!
You are a cannibal you brought the plague
Curse us with churches and teach us your ways
Baldhead you made your bed
Ka whawhai tonu maatou ake, ake (we will fight on, forever and ever)
— Lyrics from BALDH3AD! by THEIA
From Aotearoa, New Zealand, and now based in Los Angeles, Theia (Waikato-Tainui, Ngaati Tiipaa) makes unapologetic, trailblazing alternative pop/rock. Staunchly independent, she’s known for her political and challenging anthems and proudly represents her indigenous Māori heritage. She recently dropped the seething protest anthem ‘BALDH3AD!’. Awa Wahine had a kōrero with Theia on her new track and music video on her YouTube channel ★ THEIA ★.
How would you describe the sound of this track?
Alternative with rock and ethereal folk influences. I have been religiously listening to Sinead O’Connor and Heather Nova and exploring new sonic worlds, combining my favourite thing, choir-like harmonies, with medieval accordions and traditional Maaori instruments such as puutaratara—a conch used to signal war.
What’s the meaning of the song?
BALDH3AD! is my musical assault on the plague of colonization that's attacked our people since the 1800s and continues to threaten our livelihoods and culture under the current government. It’s an expression of seething anger but also a call to war for my fellow waahine Maaori, rangatahi Maaori and Indigenous folks worldwide who continue to languish under colonial rule.
What’s the message you hope people get out of it?
I hope that Paakehaa will listen to the lyrics and be reminded of the atrocities that have occurred in New Zealand under their own people’s rule. I hope it makes them aware of the wounds that are being opened again by the current government and that perhaps it may inspire some to stand with us demanding change instead of eye-rolling that we should get over it.
I hope that Maaori and other Indigenous folks who hear BALDH3AD! or watch the video are reminded of our power. Despite the system striving to eradicate us and keep us quiet, we are carrying on the work of our ancestors and fighting for justice and the betterment of our people. The youth are standing strong together.
Can you describe the concept of the video?
I wanted to play with the irony that colonisation is misogynistic—however the head of England at the time was a woman, Queen Victoria. They view us as savages, hence the robbing of land, resources, the demonisation of our culture, language and spirituality… however in the destruction and veritable genocide of colonisation, shouldn’t the world see that in fact it is them who are the savage ones?
Manuali'i - Bird of the Gods - is an anchor to ancestors and self. These poems are reminders of who you come from and who you are, compasses to constant new becomings. Questions for timekeepers and connections to universal powers. Being guided by messengers of the sky.
Dancing on the delicate tightrope of here, the past, and an imagined future, Manuali’i dives into the heart of grief and loss and love, wraps a tongue around the soft grooves of Samoan words, and rides off into the distance on a Triumph Bonneville.