This is the bizarre moment dozens of villagers struggle to carry a coffin across a RIVER.

Locals in the remote village of Tabanan in Bali, Indonesia, have been performing the funeral ritual for hundreds of years.

They haul the ornate casket down to the river bank before floating across the raging water and over a second river before arriving at the destination where the body is cremated.


The strange scene, which locals believe brings good luck, was captured earlier this month by a baffled visitor to the region.
One local said: 'The spirit of the tradition has never faded. It has been going on since ancient times. It's a local custom during the Ngaben procession.

''People in this village have to cross two rivers. It's OK when the water is calm but difficult when the river is flowing rapidly.''

Ngaben is the Hindu funeral ceremony carried out in Bali where they believe the person is re-united with the five elements to enter the upper realm and be re-born.