Three episodes into Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang discovers the horrible truth that the entire airbending population, including his mentor and confidant Monk Gyatso, has been wiped out by the vicious Fire Nation. Coming to terms with this devastating loss, Aang enlists a very important critter into his adventuring party: Momo, the mischievous and fun-loving lemur. But is there a connection between Aang's airbending master and his new travel companion?

In the aforementioned episode "The Southern Air Temple," an excited Aang is keen to confirm the survival of his fellow Air Nomads and he, Katara, and Sokka explore his former home and training facility. While his friends are less hopeful that the airbenders survived the Fire Nation's violent purge, Aang flashes back to happier times at the temple while under the tutelage of Gyatso. Aang claims that one hundred years ago, Gyatso was famed for being the "greatest airbender in the world." However, as Aang's flashback shows a humorous practical joke played by Gyatso on his fellow monks, it is clear that his mentor was no stranger to fun and games — not unlike the budding airbender himself.

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However, the same playful spirit can also be seen in Momo as he continues to play a further part in the series. The series' authors and creators walk a very fine line when writing for the loyal lemur. While Momo proclivities for comic relief are often played up during all three seasons, he has a very sweet relationship with Aang, who often asks his animal friend for advice and guidance. And although Momo never speaks, there is a strong feeling that he understands in a way that is almost human. The idea that Momo is a reincarnated version of Monk Gyatso is a potentially exciting one, seeing as it would effectively connect Aang to his past experiences, even as he pursues his uncertain future. Looking to the series and, in particular, "The Southern Air Temple," here is some evidence for the theory.

Reincarnation Is A Major Part Of Avatar

Korra Avatar Cycle

The concept of reincarnation is certainly present in the series, namely with the Avatar Cycle. According to legend, this process enables the Avatar spirit to be passed to another at the time of his or her death. The cycle, based on the seasons and the order in which Wan (the very first Avatar) acquired each elemental bending style. In order, the new Avatars are reborn into the Fire Nation, the Air Nomads, the Water Tribes, and the Earth Kingdom before the cycle restarts and, as such, are initially associated with only their native bending style (like Aang, who is only able to master airbending at the start of the series). Though reincarnation is central to the Avatar mythology, there is no mentions of anyone besides the Avatar being able achieve it, nor is the ability to reincarnate oneself in an animal form.

However, looking to the influences that help inform the mythology of the Air Nomads, which include the Tibetan and Nepalese cultures, Hinduism, and Sri Lankan Buddhism, additional speculation surrounding reincarnation is certainly apt. The rebirth cycle — referred to as saṃsāra — is as a recognizably Buddhist concept and features of the religion are clearly integrated throughout the world of Avatar. However, Monk Gyatso also embodies Buddhist idealism and tradition. His name may actually be in reference to Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama — interestingly, Aang's eldest child Tenzin is also likely a reference to the reincarnated spiritual leader.

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Additional features of Buddhist tradition are exemplified by Aang's vegetarianism and the airbenders' emphasis on meditation and spiritual connection. And the previously mentioned practical joke that Gyatso plays in Aang's flashback involves making and throwing what look suspiciously like gtor-ma, special cakes used as sacrificial offerings to Buddhist deities. Notably, when the gtor-ma successfully find their targets (the heads of Gyatso's collegues), white lemurs are shown to joyfully celebrate the fun with Aang and Gyatso, giving this reincarnation theory even more credence.

Aang First Meets Momo In The Southern Air Temple Sanctuary

Aang stands at the edge of a cliff in The Southern Air Temple episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In Aang's flashback during "The Southern Air Temple," Monk Gyatso tells Aang, "Your questions will be answered when you're old enough to enter the Air Temple sanctuary. Inside, you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey." After Aang asks who his mysterious guide will be, Gyatso replies, "When you are ready, he will reveal himself to you." Though the episode sees Aang connecting to a statue version of Roku (his form from his previous Avatar life) and learns of his next steps on his mission, there is no one else that he meets at the temple. That is, except for Momo, of course.

 "You, me, Appa," says Aang at the end of the episode. "We're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together." If Momo is truly a reincarnated Monk Gyatso, is it possible that the airbending master was alluding to Aang finding him and not the statue of Roku at the Southern Air Temple? If Gyatso was truly the most brilliant and spiritually-attuned airbending master of a generation, if anyone could aid his pupil after his death, it would he him.

Momo Leads Aang To Gyatso's Body

Monk Gyatso on Avatar the Last Airbender

During their time at the Southern Air Temple, Sokka continually complains of hunger from their long journey and scours the place for food. Eventually setting his sights on a delicious-looking Momo, he pursues him — with Aang hot on his tail, hoping to protect the helpless creature. After a brief chase scene, Aang follows Momo to the body of Monk Gyatso, instantly recognizable from the still-intact robes and brass pendant around the skeleton's neck. Considering the theory, the fact that Momo leads Aang to his former master's corpse suggests further evidence that there is some other hand at play. It is possible that Monk Gyatso, now reincarnated as Momo, chooses to bring Aang to the body in the hopes to get him to accept the severity of his situation and understand his role in the war more fully.

Momo Being Monk Gyatso May Have Been The Original Plan

Although Avatar's creators never explicitly reveal Momo to be a reborn form of Monk Gyatso, the Avatar Extras, which incorporate behind-the-scenes history of the show, tell a different story. Text displayed during the aforementioned Aang and Monk Gyatso scene reads, "Avatar Trivia: The writers almost did an episode based on the idea that Momo was the reincarnated Monk Gyatso," revealing that the idea was certainly tossed around, at least at the beginning of the series. While the line between canon and authorial intent can be blurry at the best of times, it is possible that the many of the connections between Momo and Gyatso are merely implied in an interest to eliminate confusing and complicated plot points in what is ostensibly a kid's show. Maybe there was simply no room in the story with what ended up being famously tight and action-packed series. Or perhaps, like many things in the Avatar: The Last Airbender, the writers found it much more satisfying to drop hints instead of confirming the theory outright. Regardless, it is a shame that such an potent idea wound up on the cutting room floor.

Calmed and comforted by a creature inextricable from his past, Aang's relationship with Momo is subtle, yet never fails to hint at some kind of deeper, more mysterious connection. If the theory is true and aligns with the writers' original intent, the idea that it is Monk Gyatso who continues to protect and instruct Aang is a beautiful one. A reminder of his former home and, with it, the necessity of defeating the all-powerful Fire Nation, Momo is a talisman for Aang's journey throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender, keeping him rooted in his past and all he'd learned with the prodigious Monk Gyatso.

Next: Avatar: How Old Aang Was When He Died