Marchetti Archives

Reality- short explanation on sicilian mafia. Ch.1

Okay so first off, we start with a small explanation: what is the (sicilian) mafia?

The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa Nostra (Italian: [ˈkɔːza ˈnɔstra, ˈkɔːsa -], Sicilian: [ˈkɔːsa ˈnɔʂː(ɽ)a]; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian, Mafia-terrorist-type,[5] organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily, dating to the 19th century. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organisational structure and code of conduct, and present themselves to the public under a common brand. The basic group is known as a "family", "clan", or cosca.[6] Each family claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (borgata) of a larger city, in which it operates its rackets. Its members call themselves "men of honour", although the public often refers to them as mafiosi. The Mafia's core activities are protection racketeering, the arbitration of disputes between criminals, and the organizing and oversight of illegal agreements and transactions.[3][4] By the 20th century, following wide-scale emigration from Sicily, mafiosi established gangs in North and South America which replicate the traditions and methods of their Sicilian cousins.

For short: the sicilian mafia is essentially a "gang" of italian families who take part in organized crime for money and other privelleges.

Now moving on, the sicilian mafia has rivals as well, which threaten them and their work space.
The two most important ones are their allies and the stidda:
The Stidda (pronounced [ˈstiɖːa]; Sicilian for '"star"') is a Mafia-type criminal organization centered in the central-southern part of Sicily in Italy. Members are known as stiddari or stiddaroli. It is most active in the rural parts of southern Sicily and is partially a rival to Cosa Nostra. Some members have a star tattooed on their bodies as indication of participation.

So far the basic information and explanation on what the (sicilian) mafia *is*.