Professor Piri Sciascia Photo: Victoria University of Wellington
Professor Piri Sciascia, ONZM, was awarded at this year’s Te Waka Toi Awards for his 40-year contribution to Māori performing arts.
He founded Tamatea Arikinui (Ngāti Kahungunu's oldest kapa haka group) and was a driving force behind the watershed Te Māori exhibition in 1984.
Professor Sciascia tells Kim Hill that his path was not always clear – if tikanga had been practised with dead bodies when he was at university he would have become a doctor.
Piri Sciascia recently retired as Deputy Vice Chancellor Māori at Victoria University of Wellington.
