Matho Monastery

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Matho Monastery, also called Matho Gonpa, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery about 26 kilometers southeast of Leh in Ladakh, India, on the Indus River. The village of Matho sits at the mouth of a deep gorge near the Zanskar range, opposite Thikse Monastery. It is one of the few Sakya-order monasteries in Ladakh and is less visited because it lies off the main highway.

The monastery is best known for the Matho Nagrang Festival, held on the 14th and 15th days of the first Tibetan month. During the festival, two oracles, called Rongtsan, are said to inhabit the bodies of two monks for a few hours to predict the fortunes of Matho and Ladakh for the coming year. Every three years, two monks are chosen to serve as the oracles for three years. In the first year they meditate for nine months; in the next two years the meditation lasts two months. After their retreat, the monks’ names are placed in a bowl, sealed, and drawn to choose the two vessels for the oracles.

Matho Monastery houses a collection of thangkas dating back to the 14th century. It was founded in 1410 by Lama Dugpa Dorje and belongs to the Sakya Order. The site is known for its six-hundred-year-old thangkas and the Matho Nagrang Festival. It is the only Sakya temple in Ladakh and has recently seen more monks join. Most buildings are old and worn, but a new assembly hall (du-khang) built in 2005 features colorful paintings and a main statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. A small top-floor chapel contains images of Sakya Pandita and other Sakya lamas.

Adjacent to the temple is a museum with many old thangkas, some brought from Tibet in the first half of the 15th century when the monastery was founded. The masks and robes worn by lamas during the annual dance festival are also on display. The Rongtsan oracles Festival occurs around the Buddhist new year, usually in the first half of March. The two monks prepare with months of fasting and meditation to become suitable vessels. While possessed, they are said to perform feats such as knife-cutting and blindfolded walking along the ramparts. They also answer questions about Matho and Ladakh’s future, and people may ask personal questions; skeptical questions can provoke an angry display.