'Aboriginal DNA Somewhere': M.I.A. Says She Feels a Deep Ancestral Connection to Australia

Sri Lankan-born, British-raised rapper, singer, and producer, M.I.A. says she feels a deep connection to Australia through her ancestry.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, she said that Tamil people "have Aboriginal DNA somewhere", and she feels that kinship.

"It’s thought that Tamil Dravidians in Sri Lanka have a mix of Aboriginal DNA. And the Indigenous names — there are Tamil words in them. I just think that thousands of years ago there was definitely travel going on," M.I.A., or Maya Arulpragasam, explained.

"They thought there was a land mass that connected Australia, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar — and then it sank. That’s why you only find lemurs in Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and on the west coast of Australia,” she continued. “So whichever theory it is, I always have a connection to Australia beyond popular culture and all of that.”

Australian has always been a party of her musical journey, having previously played major festivals like Big Day Out and Laneway. She described her upcoming visit for Harvest Rock festival this weekend, and string of headline shows, as a homecoming of sorts.

Connecting art with activism, as she has done throughout her career, she said: “It just feels like the right moment. Julian [Assange] was released and he’s accepted back in his home country and they’re supportive of him, and so that reflects the temperament of the Australian political landscape right now.”

That shift in Australia's political climate, she said, inspired her to come back.