Hi there!
What an interesting question! We've all seen The Godfather and
Goodfellas, and who among us hasn't cracked the occasional Mob joke?
But I've never considered where the organization came from. The
research has been fascinating.
Let me break things into pieces, as your answer, while simple on the
surface, is actually complex.
HOW AND WHEN
-------------
According to some sources, the Mafia is believed to have come into
being in the 9th century, during the Arabic occupation of Sicily.
Resident Sicilians were oppressed, and fled to the hills for solace.
During this time, the secret Mafia society was formed in an attempt to
unify Sicilians against their enemy invaders, to create a strong sense
of family, protection and safe refuge. Interestingly, the word
"Mafia" is Arabic for "refuge", and one line of thought is that this
is where the Mafia originally drew its name.
During the Norman invasion of Sicily in the 11th century, and during
each subsequent invasion, Sicilian residents fled to the protection of
the secret Mafia society to preserve their heritage and unite against
their common enemy. From the Norman invasion comes another theory as
to how the Mafia got its name - an acronym from "Morte Alla Francia
Italia Anela" (Death to the French is Italy's Cry).
Sources disagree as to which is the "correct" origin; both seem to be
accepted in Mafia lore.
Several sources note the Mafia structure, hierarchy and "code of
conduct":
"This secret society was at that time mostly intended to unify the
natives against their enemies. Its intention was to create a sense of
family based on ancestry and Sicilian heritage. This idea of family
was carried through in the structure of the organization, which had a
strongly hierarchical layout. At the head of the organization stood
the dons, or chiefs, who were in charge of the Mafia chapters in every
village. They in turn reported to the don of dons, who resided in the
capital, Palermo. Members of the organization were required to take an
oath upon initiation. This oath included the five basic principles on
which the Mafia was, and to this day is, based:
-- Omerta: A code of silence. A vow never to reveal any Mafia secrets
or members under the threat of torture or death.
-- Total obedience to the boss.
-- Assistance to any befriended Mafia faction, no questions asked.
-- Avenge any attack on members of the Family, because an attack on
one is an attack on all.
-- Avoid any and all contact with the authorities."
History of the Mafia
http://www.alleged-mafia-site.com/history.htm
Although the modern image of the Mafia calls to mind organized crime,
violent death, and blatant disregard for any form of authority other
than its own special brand, that's not quite an accurate picture. The
*original* Italian Mafia was formed to protect Sicilians from
invaders. Surprisingly, the Italian Mafia actually worked very
closely with US forces during the Allied invasion of Sicily during
World War II - after the Fascists had been driven out by the invasion,
the Mafia was pretty much the only organization resembling any sort of
government structure. The modern day Italian Mafia is but a small
part of the overall criminal Mafia organization.
Further reading on the origins of the Mafia follows - the articles are
quite interesting. Some even include links to biographical
information of famous modern mafiosi:
History of the Mafia (Contains photos and biographical links)
http://www.wallwin.org.uk/godfather/mafia.html
A Brief History of the Mafia
http://www.pressanykey.com/mafia/history.html
Italian Organized Crime (includes biographical links)
http://www.alleged-mafia-site.com/italian.htm
OMERTA? THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN MAFIA
http://users.aol.com/whizkid01/hist.html
Jerry Capeci's Gangland (Very thorough)
http://www.ganglandnews.com/
Mafia Chronology
http://www.onewal.com/maf-chr.html
Murder Inc.
http://murderinc.com/
HOW DO I JOIN?
--------------
You don't, exactly. Not anymore, anyway - you don't go to the Mafia
to sign up, they come to you to sign you up. The Omerta strictly
prohibits discussing ANY aspect of Mafia life, and that includes
initiation rituals.
Historically, according to the Gambino Family website, becoming a
member of the Mafia involved each village choosing a "Capodecina" or
"capo" (head of the family) to represent each village, then a secret
initiation ritual:
"Secret societies in the hills were needed to resist foreign rulers.
These societies were formed not only to try and defeat the French
rulers but also to protect and feed the Italian families in the
villages of Palermo and surrounding areas. Since most of the villagers
were related, each village picked a member to head their family.
These heads of families were called (capodecina or capos for short).
The capodecina would pick men from the village to take with him to the
hills. Before the men left for the hills they would have to pledge
their loyalty, support and Omertá . The oath in English sounded like
this:
"I (NAME GIVEN) want to enter into this secret organization to protect
my family and to protect my brothers. ""morte alla Francia Italia
anelia!" With my blood. (A knife is used to place a cut on the right
index finger or hand) and the blood of all the saints, and the souls
of my children. (The sign of the cross is made) I swear not to divulge
this secret and to obey with love and omerta. I enter alive into this
organization and leave it only in death."
The True Story Of The Mafia, A Lost Family Of Honor
http://www.gambino.com/mafia.htm
According to Cory's Mafia Site, new members are told prior to
initiation that they "come into this on your feet, and leave it in a
coffin". They are then asked:
"[ If your ] mother was on a death bed and you where called for, would
you come? Or if we asked you to kill your own brother, would you? If
so which finger would you use to pull the trigger with?"
Cory's Mafia Site - The Induction
http://members.tripod.com/~corytheboss/mafiafacts.html
You can find the rest of Cory's site here:
http://mafiasite.freewebsites.com/
WHAT DOES THE MAFIA DO?
-----------------------
Historically, the Mafia was responsible for protecting their home
villages, mounting raids on enemy camps for food and weapons, and
redistributing these things throughout their home villages - all under
the strictest secrecy:
"The members of the society would raid supplies and weapons from the
French and distribute their wares throughout the villages. They had to
operate in complete secrecy. This was necessary to protect the members
and their families from torture. This was an honorable society in the
fact that you had to believe totally in the cause and be willing to
die to protect the members. The villagers also respected and honored
the soldiers from the hills. They knew there was a chance for freedom
from the French but only if they remained silent about their fellow
Italians in the hills."
The True Story Of The Mafia, A Lost Family Of Honor
http://www.gambino.com/mafia.htm
As the Mafia grew in size and strength, activities turned toward the
criminal:
"By the 19th century the Mafia had grown vast and strong and where it
initially had been a small, partisan organization, it had turned into
a large, criminally oriented society, ignoring all forms of authority
except their own. At this time the most common form of extortion was
the practice of handing out Black Hand notes, which had started in the
1700s. These notes, handed to wealthy citizens, were polite requests
for an amount of money in return for protection. Of course, the only
people that these victims needed protection against were the same
criminals who handed them these notes. If the victims did not comply
with these requests, they and their family could usually expect
violence, kidnapping, bombings, and murder to be used agaisnt them as
convincing arguments."
History of the Mafia
http://www.alleged-mafia-site.com/history.htm
Present-day Mafia activities permeate businesses in and around Sicily,
according to several of the pages cited above. Additionally, the
Mafia has been involved in bootlegging, money laundering, drug
trafficking, mail fraud, "protection" (basically, blackmail schemes
which force business owners to pay a certain amount to the Mafia or
use Mafia approved suppliers, or face brutal beatings or death),
murder for hire, kidnapping and ransom, customs fraud, tax evasion and
a host of other criminal activities. You'll find confirmation of
these activities in the biographical information in the pages cited
above.
In his book "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary
Underbelly", noted chef and author Anthony Bourdain alludes to
restaurant owners being forced to deal with Mafia owned/operated
suppliers in order to get the food and liquor necessary to operate
their establishments. Restaurateurs who refused would find themselves
suddenly forced out of business. He further elaborates on this
practice in his "fictional work" titled "A Bone In The Throat", a book
based on his own experiences as he came up through the New York City
restaurant world. The book is said to paint an accurate picture of
what happens behind the scenes in Mafia dominated New York City.
CAN YOU QUIT?
-------------
Sure - by dying.
Joining the Mafia is considered a serious, lifetime, very nearly
religious committment, with only one way out. Death. Either of old
age or disease, by your own hand or by the hand of a "brother" sent
after you if you've broken the Omerta, turned stoolie or otherwise
dishonored your oaths. The penalties for trying to "retire" are swift
and severe:
"Joining the mafia was like joining a religion. It was a commitment
for life. You could not retire from it (and this still holds true
today.) This was a serious "religion", even for the very young mafia
members. They were taught basic uses of the sword, knife, and rope,
in order to be able to murder their victims. It would be a very
violent death to anyone who became an informant."
History of the Mafia
http://www.wallwin.org.uk/godfather/mafia.html
"Joining the society is like joining a religion. It is a lifetime
commitment, stronger than any ties to other religions, state or even
family. You cannot retire from it. This society has survived through
centuries, it is secret and only members know other members. No one
would ever admit to being a member nor tell you who other members are.
That would violate Omertá and be punishable by death."
The True Story Of The Mafia, A Lost Family Of Honor
http://www.gambino.com/mafia.htm
For more information about the Mafia, it's origins and modern day
Mafia activities, Eric, creator of the Underworld Information Service,
suggests the following reading:
-- Accardo: The Genuine Godfather by Bill Roemer.
-- Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life by Robert Lacey.
-- Murder, Inc.: The Story of the Syndicate by Burton Turkus and Sid
Feder
His page also includes a Mafia discussion forum, biographical
information for famous mafiosi and links to other Mafia information
pages.
Underworld Information Service
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/9205/mafia.html
The Gambino Family web page is also a wealth of Mafia information,
including biographical links to Mafia notables such as Carlo Gambino,
Lucky Luciano, Paul Castellano, and more:
Gambino Family
http://www.gambino.com/index1.htm
I see that the one hour deadline is fast approaching.
I hope you find this answer helpful. If you feel that I have not
included sufficient information for your needs, please do not hesitate
to ask for clarification. I will gladly research the topic further
for you. It's been a very interesting topic!
--Missy
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