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Concept
Sicilian Mafia
Summary
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (ˈkɔːza ˈnɔstra, ˈkɔːsa -, ˈkɔːsa ˈnɔʂː(ɽ)a; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society operating on the island of Sicily since the 19th century. It is an association of gangs which sell their protection and arbitration services under a common brand. The Mafia's core activities are protection racketeering, the arbitration of disputes between criminals, and the organizing and oversight of illegal agreements and transactions.
The basic group is known as a "family", "clan", or cosca. Each family claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town, village or neighborhood (borgata) of a larger city, in which it operates its rackets. Its members call themselves "men of honor", although the public often refers to them as mafiosi. By the 20th century, wide-scale emigration from Sicily facilitated the formation of mafiosi style gangs in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and South America. These diaspora based outfits replicated the traditions and methods of their Sicilian ancestors to varying extents.
The word mafia originated in Sicily. The Sicilian noun mafiusu (in Italian: mafioso) roughly translates to mean "swagger", but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, mafiusu in 19th-century Sicily was ambiguous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta. In reference to a woman, however, the feminine-form, "mafiusa", means a beautiful or attractive female. The Sicilian word mafie refers to the caves near Trapani and Marsala, which were often used as hiding places for refugees and criminals.
Sicily was once an Islamic emirate, therefore mafia might have Arabic roots. Possible Arabic roots of the word include:
maʿafī (معفي): exempted. In Islamic law, Jizya is the yearly tax imposed on non-Muslims residing in Muslim lands. Those who pay it are "exempted" from prosecution.
Official source
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