Date :   Sunday, 4th April 1999, 12:30 PM sharp
Place:	  8 Citroen Place, Ingleburn , Sydney, NSW.
                      BYO chairs & some snacks. Drinks/tea/coffee/pool on the house.
                  - Arrangements can be made to pickup and drop from Ingleburn train station.
RSVP by:	30 March 1999 (Please call: 9618 0203 after hours)
Bhintuna                                     March/April 1999
http://www.catmando.com/npo/guthi/

* Members to meet at 11:30 am SHARP to discuss 1999 review.
* Budget discussion from the treasury - Dr Umesh Sinhya.
* Vote to discuss any long term plan or dissolve Guthi Australia for good.
* Prepare and arrange table, snacks, drinks for guests and new members.

Our last guthiya "Mha Puja" picnic was held at Stanwell Park, 24 October1998 with a modest gathering
of pasa pucha attending (see picnic pictures below):

Fortcoming festivals before the end of year 2055
March 17 - Chaitra 3, Ghode Jatra	                                        April 3 - Chaitra 20, Sankhu Yatra
March 25 - Chaitra 11, Ram navami- Chait dasian             April 10 - Chaitra 27, Bhairav Bhadrakali yatra

SOME BLIND BELIEFS OR SUPERSTITIONS PREVALENT IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY
When a man wants to go to some foreign land or to some distant district or town he has to undergo a brief ceremony before his departure. In that ceremony he has to worship Sukunda, a brass oil-lamp with an image of Ganesh and having a burning wick. His forehead will be marked with a Tika mixed with some rice, curd and vermilion. He is then handed over with a boiled egg, a dry fish to eat and a peg or two of alcoholic drink. On the groundfloor a couple of pitchers full of water are placed on either side of the door. He drops some coins in these pitchers when he leaves the house.This is done to make his mission successful.When a person goes out for some purpose and on the way if he or she comes across some empty pitcher- to fetch water from the tap it is considered that the purpose will not be successful or satisfactory and vice versa.
Sneezing is a sign of ill omen when a person is about to leave the house for some purpose.
If three persons leave a house together for some purpose the mission will have no effect.
A person should not pass the way which is crossed before him or her by a serpent or a cat since it is a sign of ill omen.
It is not desirable to allow some one to circumambulate a person three times since such an action is performed only when a corpse is placed on a pier to be cremated.
It is good to keep a dog at home as it desires for a chance to enjoy a wedding feast whereas keeping a cat at home is not desirable for it always awaits the feast of death ceremony. contd..
The falling of a chameleon on some one is considered to be a bad omen as it brings the bad news of some relative’s death.
The sight of the mating of crows is an ill omen since it brings ill luck for the sight-seer.
The crow is supposed to bring ill tidings. The noisy cawing of the crow is the foreboding of bad news of some relative’s bad luck or demise for the person before whom it caws noisily.
But for the new generation the old people think it anti-social to shave the moustache (and not beard) while their parents are still living. After the demise of the parents the sons must shave their moustache along with hair and beard.
The appearance of a big spider over the ceiling or within the walls of the home is the indication of ensuing quarrel in that home.
Rainfall on Tuesday or Saturday is taken for the continuity of rain the whole week
Seeing gold or golden ornaments in the dream is the sign of ill omen, for the seer lose something on that day whereas some nasty things like urine, stool, of drain etc. brings good luck for the person who sees such a dream.
The fluttering of eyelid on the right side is the sign of good luck for the male and that on the left side is an ill omen for him. And it is just the reverse in the case of the female.
The itching of right palm for the male is the sign of good luck. He will get money from some source. And the itch on the left palm is the indication of expense from him. And for the females it is just the reverse.
The itching of the throat of a person is the sign of some one speaking ill’of him or her.
The sight of pigeons on the roof of a house is the sign of good omen for that house whereas that of a vulture perching on the roof is a bad omen.
If a person suffers from earache he or she Is advised to visit the deity of earache and offer some coins wishing to be cured. The shrine is lying on the wayside while going from Kathmandu to Patan across the Bagmati bridge.
On the wayside of Bangemuda Kathmandu there is a wooden board stuck to the wall with innumerable nails driven, on l t. A person suffering from tooth ache visits this board, the deity of toothache, for driving a nail on it wishing to stop his toothache.
During the eclipse (lunar or solar) a pregnant woman must take special care not to touch any part of her own body lest the child born should get a black patch on its body. Whichever part of her own body she touches, the same Dart of the baby will get the black mark after its birth.
When no child survives ina couple the mother takes the new-born child to a drain and leaves him or her there to be instantly taken by another woman who is paid a token money by the mother who gets the child back to play the role of a nurse. This makes the child survive. There is another method also. The new-born babe,. is handed over to a woman whose children survive and gets back the child by the mother herself to be adopted.
The husband of a pregnant woman should not step over the rope which a buffalo, a goat, or any other animal is tied with as it will make her very difficult to give birth.
A child generally catches the disease of crying all the times for nothing when he or she is touched by a pregnant woman or by one who has recently given birth. And as a remedy for it the child, with clothes on, is poured over early in the morning with water just brought from the tap. Sunday is the good day for this remedy. And until the child becomes normal the same process is repeated on the same day.
The arrival of a person on the spot where his or her name is being mentioned is generally believed that the person will have longevity.
If a man feels itching on his right ear he will hear good news and if there is itching on the lef t ear the news will be bad. It is just the reverse in the case of a woman.
The eighth year in a person’s life is the indication of inauspiciousness. The numerals ending in eight (not excluding eighteen) like twenty eight, thirty-eight, etc. are all bad. The eighth and eighty-eighth years are specially considered to be unlucky.
Coming back home af ter being absent f or eight nights and nine days is not regarded as good for the family. If one must come one can do so after the appearance of stars in the sky.
To sleep in the bed arranged crosswise with the beams of the ceiling in the bedroom is not regarded good. Page 2 of 2
If a couple has no male issue survived, the new-born son’s right ear is pierced through by a needle on the upper part to wear an ear ring on it. This makes the son survive.
The fingers which touch the throat are generally blown over. It may lead to the growth of a goitre if it is not done so.
When people see some one yawning they will flip their fingers with some pious words uttered.
It is the general belief that a person with squint eyes or hazel eyes or brown moustache should not be trusted.
During the menstrual period a woman keeps aloof from others as she is considered unclean. She uses separate bed, refrains from doing domestic chores, visiting temples and touching trees and plants. With this period coming to an end she takes bath, changes clothes and resumes her normal works in the family.
The death of a cat in the house is a very bad omen. It requires some ceremony done to avoid some mishap coming to that house.
Visiting the sick, taking part in the ceremony connected with the dead, lead a pregnant woman to miscarriage.
The yelling of some curs or a cur in the locality is not a good omen. It is the symptom of the forecast of some one’s death in near future in the neighbourhood.
The passing of stool on some one by the crow while on its wings or perching on the roof or on the tree is the sign of ill omen bringing something undesirable for the person.
Sometimes musk-rats appear in a chain in the evening holding each other’s upper part of the tail. This sight also gives the inkling of an ill omen for the person who sees it.
A baby should not be carried with both hands underneath its back as it is customary for a child to be taken away for cremation in that pose after its demise.