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To add to this; Cosa Nostra is Sicillian. Over the water, in Naples, it's "Camorra". In Puglia it's "Sacra Corona Unita". In Calabria, it's the awkward to prono
by tomelders 7y ago
To add to this; Cosa Nostra is Sicillian. Over the water, in Naples, it's "Camorra". In Puglia it's "Sacra Corona Unita". In Calabria, it's the awkward to pronounce"'Ndrangheta", who I believe are consindered to be the most dangerous, and closely aligned with the Albanian Mafia IIRC.
There are more, but those are the main active ones. Collectivley, they are Mafia type organisations.
The word Mafia itself is Sicillian in origin, and means "Swagger".
- misiti3780 7y agoI believe Mafia is actually a combination of Arabic and Siciliano “A less romantic and more likely derivation of the name Mafia is a combined Sicilian-Arabic slang expression that means acting as a protector against the arrogance of the powerful. Until the nineteenth century, the appellation mafioso, a Mafia member, had wide currency in Sicily as a noncriminal, resolute man with congenital distrust of centralized authority.” Excerpt From: Selwyn Raab. “Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Mast Powerful Mafia Empires.” Apple Books.
- Mirioron 7y agoSo, they were anarchists?
- mdrzn 7y agoWere and mostly still are, except now they're the one making the rules. They became the very same thing they were getting away from.
- ninju 7y agoYou mean dictators then (no rules except for the ones we want you to follow :-))
- danans 7y agoI've heard the opposite - that the Mafia formed to take advantage of a period when there was a vacuum of central authority in Italy and therefore little security for common folks. The mafia served as the protectors - and if not paid, harassers - of the people in this situation.
- beerandt 7y agoPretty much any government does the same- try not paying your taxes. Harassment will follow.
- mwfunk 7y agoIf you think that's crazy, try stealing a car or assaulting someone! Those darned government oppressors, always keeping us down with their taxes and laws and stuff. Who do they think they are anyway, the government?!?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- beerandt 7y agoIt's payment for justice. We just call it taxes and police. They call it tribute and protection, or something else. The same basic functions are being fulfilled in different ways.
- danans 7y agoI agree that they share many characteristics and objectives, derived ultimately from certain realities of the ways humans operate. But I do contend that the better forms of government that are less mafia-like. Obviously absolute monarchies and dictatorships aren't among them.
- paulddraper 7y agoIt's like they're the mafia or something.
- eecc 7y agoMore like warlords or tribal leaders acting in the vacuum of authority
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoI wasn't certain what you meant by swagger in this context. Dictionary.com tells us: 1870–75; < Italian < Sicilian: orig., elegance, bravura, courage So swagger would seem to be an appropriate translation. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mafia?s=t https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mafia?s=t
- gpderetta 7y agoInteresting, in the local language of the Italian region I was born (not Sicily), 'mafiosu' is used as a compliment for someone dressed elegantly. I always thought it was odd, but now it makes sense.