A Wellington woman is vowing to fight after her husband's body was forcibly taken from their home by his whānau, to be buried at his Northland marae.
Tommy Murray, who was 54, had a heart problem and died suddenly last week.
His wife, Sara Murray, opened the doors of their Naenae home so whānau could join her and her teenage daughters to grieve with his body.
Her spokesperson told RNZ's Maori news Director Mani Dunlop that things turned ugly on Sunday night when the Northland whānau lifted Tommy Murray's lidless coffin and took him from the house - twice almost dropping him out.
Former MP Shane Jones, from Te Tai Tokerau, spoke to Susie Ferguson about Māori tikanga.
