
Feared across India, the exiled Aghori monks of Varanasi feast on human flesh and reside near cremation sites in search of spiritual enlightenment.

Showing the monks with painted faces and beads strung around their necks, these incredible images were taken by Italian photographer Cristiano Ostinelli, who spent time with the tribe to discover more about their way of life.

The mysterious tribe members live in cemeteries and feast on human flesh as part of their rituals, as well as drinking from human skulls, chewing the heads off live animals and meditating on top of cadavers in search of spiritual enlightenment.

The Aghori monks of Varanasi are feared throughout India and are believed to be able to see the future

Italian photographer Cristiano Ostinelli spent time with the mysterious tribe to capture their mysterious way of life

The monks feast on human flesh, drink from human skulls and are even said to bite the heads off life animals for their rituals

Mr Ostinelli explained: '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.'

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.

The Varanasi tribe live near cremation sites and use a combination of alcohol and marijuana with meditation to reach enlightenment

The monks trace their roots to the 17th-century puritan Baba Kinaram, who is said to have lived to the age of 170

With painted faces and often seen wearing little or no clothing, their way of life is said to discourage an attachment to earthly delusions

The monks believe that the body is inconsequential and flesh and blood are simply transitory, which is why they surround themselves with death and decay

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 mysterious tribe drink alcohol from human skulls, known as kapalas, and are said to also drink urine and eat faecal matter

The Italian photographer spent time with the tribe, which lives on the fringes of society, to capture incredible images of their way of life

Their religion is a sect of Hinduism, but the monks are often viewed with disgust and fear by their fellow countrymen

The tribe's belief extend to them often walking around without clothes to signify the human body in its purest form

There are just 20 of the group said to be living in Varanasi today, but in the 19th century they numberes in their hundreds

The monks use their unusual rituals to bring them closer to the revered Hindu god Shiva

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

They emphasise this notion through their habit of dwelling in cemeteries and by surrounding themselves with death and decay.

The Aghori shun material belongings and often walk around unclothed. This encourages detachment from what they see as earthly delusions and better signifies the human body in its purest form.