An Indian man living in Melbourne’s west has been left terrified after two strangers performed a ritual he fears is linked to “black magic” outside his home.
The pair, who are also of Indian subcontinental appearance, were caught on CCTV lighting a small lamp and leaving it in at T-intersection on Knowsley Avenue in the immigrant-dominated suburb of Tarneit on Saturday evening.
The resident, named Gurjeet, sent the footage to local news outlet Wyndham TV, and told them he was scared by the mystery ritual, as he believes could have involved “black magic”.
The footage shows a woman wearing activewear and slides and carrying what appears to be a lit Hindu fire lamp before placing it in the middle of the street. She was accompanied by a bearded man, also wearing slides and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.
The woman shuffled backwards, made a hand gesture near the surface of the road, and the pair then walked away, leaving the lamp burning in the street.
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Wyndham locals left hundreds of comments on Wyndham TV’s Facebook post about the ritual, with many mocking the concept of “black magic”, while others criticised the couple of using a public street for a foreign religious ritual.
“So if I tell everyone that lighting a fire in the middle of the street is a religious practice I’m allowed to do it?” asked one.
“Black magic? Someone has watched too much Harry Potter!” said another.
“They were just fixing a pothole,” joked a third, referring to the third world condition of many roads in Victoria.
An Indian man explained the ritual by saying that “some fools think that if they do this their problems will go away and would kind of transfer to the person who crosses over it”.
“Such activities are rarely seen in India these days with people getting educated so it’s quite strange to see this in Australia. Australians, what kind of material are you bringing into your country?” he asked.
Left, right, the couple carrying out the lamp ritual (Wyndham TV).
