A unique cross fertilization of religious ideals exists among the many ethnographic groups that inhabit the remote mountains of Nepal. The Middle hills covers about 65 percent of the total land area of Nepal. There are 65 ethnic groups speaking 45 different languages and over hundreds of different dialogue with their own culture, custom and believes. Shamanism in Nepal is thought to date back some 50,000 years and the ancient healing traditions of shamanism are mostly history in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, Bhutan, and Northern India. During the traditional shamanic ceremony, the costumed shaman, aided by traditional drum beats and dance, would enter into a trance state in which he or she travels to seek the spirits who assist in the healing work. The tribal mask making tradition may represent ancestral, animistic and shamanic vestiges of now long lost or suppressed local religions. Not bound by an orthodox religious canon they created original interpretations out of simple forms. Nepali shaman could intercede and petition malevolent mountain deities that controlled disease, weather and fertility in crops and animals. Today the jhankri and dhami who are traditional shamanic healers do not wear masks. Exactly how they functioned is somewhat conjecture adding to the mystery surrounding them. Some are undeniably very old and powerful despite the lack of verifiable provenance.