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The Indian tribe, who feed off of the dead, have been banned from their native land and are feared by most countrymen.

But Italian photographer Cristiano Ostinelli braved their cannibalistic ways and spent time with the tribe to try and discover more about their way of life.

In doing so he captured these breathtaking images showing the monks with white painted faces and beads strung around their necks.

The mysterious tribe members live in cemeteries and feast on human flesh as part of their rituals.

They also drink from human skulls and eat people's excrement.

Chewing the heads off live animals and meditating on top of dead bodies in search of spiritual enlightenment, is also a pastime for this unusual tribe.

"There is a great mystery around them and the Indians fear them, they say they can predict the future, walk on water and do evil prophecies," said Cristiano.

The monks use a combination of marijuana, alcohol and meditation to help them reach a disconnected state of heightened awareness and bring themselves closer to revered Hindu god Lord Shiva.

The Aghori also believe that by immersing themselves without prejudice in what others deem taboo or disturbing, they're on course to achieving enlightenment.

They live among India's cremation sites, where Lord Shiva and goddess Kali Ma are said to dwell and feed on what others throw away.

Bodies are often cremated and then scattered into the sacred Ganges river, but some bodies are disposed of without cremation.

The Aghori are said to collect these remains and use them for their spiritual enlightenment, wearing the corpses, consuming them or building alters from them.

The monks believe that flesh and blood are transitory and that the body is ultimately inconsequential.

They emphasise this idea by living in cemeteries and surrounding themselves with death and decay.

Shunning material goods is also part of their culture and the members often walk around completely naked.

This is meant to detach them from earthly delusions and allows them to be in their purest form.

They trace their religion back to 17th-century puritan Baba Kinaram, who is said to have lived to the age of 170.

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