Maori are being urged to help inform non-Maori whanau about certain tikanga

A Lower Hutt widow is distraught and wants to take legal action after her husband's whanau took his body and open coffin from her house, to bury him in Northland.

The 54 year old man died suddenly at a boxing gym and didn't leave a will.

National Maori Authority Chair, Matthew Tukaki, says there is a role for Maori to play here.

He says we often hear about Te Ao Maori, Matariki and co-governance ... but swirling around all that is tikanga -- which is essentially the beating heart of Maoridom.