The gruesome deities frequently depicted in Himalayan art often confuse people who think of Buddhism as a primarily peaceful religion. In Tibetan and Nepalese schools of Buddhism, these wrathful figures may personify particular evils or illnesses, but most are transformed versions of peaceful beings who reveal themselves as fierce persona to protect worshipers from calamities such as illness, poverty, famine, fires, floods, landslides, earthquakes and so forth.