A village without doors. Why worshippers of the god Shani are not afraid of thieves

There is a bank in the Indian village of Shani Shingnapur, which in itself is quite amazing. But documentaries about Shani Shingnapur are shot not for this reason, but because the bank is the only local building that has a door. Yes, and that is not locked: it protects not from thieves, but from stray dogs.

The residents here don't need any doors or locks. After all, anyone who dares to commit theft will suffer kara - Sade-Sati - seven years of absolute bad luck. Besides, the villain will not be able to escape with the loot. All night he will ride at full speed, but at dawn, when he already believes that he has left the chase, he will find that he has not moved from his place. These are the precepts of the god Shani, who is worshipped by the inhabitants of Shani Shingnapur.

For hundreds of years, the locals are not at all afraid of theft. Only at night the doorways are closed with improvised materials so that wild animals do not get into the house. All cars parked on the streets are open, shopkeepers keep money in wooden boxes, no one even thinks of hiding jewelry under lock and key.

According to legend, a long time ago, a black stone slab was found on the bank of the river flowing near Shani Shingnapur. As soon as someone touched it, blood began to ooze out of the stone. That same night, this man had a dream in which the god Shani appeared to him and said that this slab was his earthly incarnation. Shani ordered to leave the stone in the village and plant it on the square so that he could survey the surroundings and guard the peace. The residents of the village did so and have not needed doors since.

They say that one of the wealthy peasants once decided to put a lock on his barn and tragically died the next day.

Until the 90s of the last century, Shani Shingnapur lived a secluded life until Bollywood filmmakers descended. The rumor about the village without doors quickly spread around the world, and now it feeds at the expense of tourists. The newcomers, of course, brought crime with them. In 2010, the first recorded theft took place in Shani Shingnapur. Someone stole 35 thousand rupees. A year later, the rector of the temple was robbed, and soon the temple itself was robbed. But the doorways of the houses remain empty. Thieves are not particularly looking for - they have already doomed themselves to countless failures.