Originally Posted By: olivant
Originally Posted By: Enzo Scifo
Originally Posted By: olivant
I've heard it before, but that death to the French thing is preposterous. The origins of the Mafia go back much further than the 18th centiry.

It does not, the Mafia as a society came to exist in the green area of lemon and orange trees around Palermo, somewhere between 1850 and 1860.
The name itself probably has Arab roots, yes.

John Dickie, Cosa Nostra, 2004.



Dickie is refering to the formal organization. I am refering to the Sicily's reacton to its various occupiers which are legion and go back to antiquity and especially the Normans in the 10th century. Mafia is a way of life as well as an orgnization. It is akin to the Machismo in Hispanic culture which places emphasis on maniliness which is characterised by bearing one's torments without recourse to formal authority for remedy and complete loyalty to one's clan.


Mm. In my opinion the mafia is not a way of life. Just an (or two) organization(s) of thieves and murderers, nothing more. That's the core of all of it, I can't see how that could also be a way of life. It's also the reason why it has managed to survive such a long time, cause "you can't wipe out the way of life of those Sicilians".

Anyways, just my 2 cents smile

Last edited by Enzo Scifo; 04/12/10 06:28 PM.
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See, we can act as smart as we want, but at the end of the day, we still follow a guy who fucks himself with kebab skewers.