Why a Sicilian Mafia?
All nations have, created secret societies outside the rule of law. The Chinese have produced their tongs and triads, the English their tribes of thieves, like Robin Hood, and the modern Colombians their drug cartels. But nowhere else has a land become so bound up with a criminal brotherhood as the island of Sicily.
For nearly 3,000 years Sicily suffered through a long succession of foreign conquerors. Its greatest value lay in its strategic location at the crossroads of major Mediterranean trade routes. Sicily was conquered by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians. These invaders were followed by Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, Austrians, and French, among others. Sicilian history became a history of foreign occupa-tion and foreign control. Century after century, one outside power after another conquered and ruled the island. Most of the time, the controlling power was far from the island and cared for little but what they could take from the people of Sicily. The conquers weren't all the same, but all were foreign, and none cared about the welfare of Sicily.
The foreigners left marks on the island; they intermarried with the locals, influenced ar-chitecture, and brought new religions. But as the foreign powers came and went, Sicily's common people developed a hidden culture of their own: a belief that they must form their own protection and not count on foreign laws to protect them. These beliefs caused the Sicilians to become a secretive, clannish people, distrustful of all outsiders. They rejected foreign authority and created their own rules for their society foreign rule was followed on the surface but the hidden rules came to dominate their lives. Law was viewed as foreign law that was changeable as new foreign powers came to the island.Over time the common people placed little value on the law and paid it little respect. Most people came to believe the old Sicilian proverb, "The law is only for the rich, the gallows is for the poor, and justice is believed in only fools." A belief arose that the accepted rules of the common people were more important than any law. These rules were harsh like the land and climate of the island. A real man took care of his own and owed loyalty to his own group. First to the family tied by common blood then to others in a closed group tied by friendship and blood oath. History had proven to the people that those from outside could not be trusted and would take advantage of the people. Trust was only to be shared with those within your own group, law was to protect others; the group would protect itself. In dealing with people from outside the group a moral Sicilian had little problem with lying, cheating, stealing, or even killing, as long as the victims were outsiders. For a man to gain respect in Sicily, he showed his resistance to forces from the outside never betraying his fellow group members. He would guard family and group secrets at all costs and be silent even under torture, even unto death. The man of honor and respect was a Sicilian-born who was strong enough and powerful enough to live on his own terms. He would defend his own honor and never look to outsiders for help. If he lived by these rules even if he were brutal or corrupt, he would be viewed as a man of respect. Power was to be shared with the brotherhood of the group not with outsiders and what had to be done to maintain power was acceptable no matter what the cost.
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