Initiation ritual (mafia)
The initiation ritual in circles of the Mafia or various criminal organizations with mafia-like structures is the ritual introduction of a candidate through vows of blood or loyalty as a new member in the respective organization. The first known acceptance ritual dates back to 1877 in Monreale ( Sicily ), at a kind of early Mafia organization called Stuppagghiari .
Before membership
Traditionally, the potential, commitment and loyalty of the recruit is tested for a while before being accepted. In some cases, in order to be admitted, he even has to commit murder to prove that he is not an undercover investigator .
Well-known examples of ceremonies and oaths
Sicilian Cosa Nostra , as well as American Cosa Nostra
If a new member is to be accepted into a Cosa Nostra family, the applicant ( associate ) usually receives a call with the order to be ready to be picked up in good clothes. After being picked up, either alone or with other recognized applicants, he will be brought to a room where the boss will hold the acceptance ceremony in the presence of at least one other Made Man . The family boss accepts a new member by dripping some blood from the “trigger finger” or thumb of the new member onto a picture of a saint (mostly Francis of Assisi or the Virgin Mary ), burning the picture in his Lays hands and makes him take an oath and swear by the so-called " Omertà ". The sworn oath can vary from family to family, but is traditionally something like this: “As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of Omertà” or “As burns this saint, so will burn my soul. I enter alive and I will have to get out dead. "
Membership is reserved for men only. The first known representation of an admission ritual in the United States comes from 1963 by the Pentito named Joe Valachi , who was initiated in 1930.
Calabrian 'Ndrangheta
In the area around Lecco , a city in the north of Milan in rich Lombardy , the police succeeded in secretly filming the initiation rite of the 'Ndrangheta during a dinner in a restaurant in May 2014. “Buon vespero e santa sera ai santisti” is the greeting. That means something like: "A good dinner and a blessed night to our holy brothers." "Santisti" is a hierarchical name of the 'Ndrangheta. Then the Italian national heroes Giuseppe Garibaldi , Giuseppe Mazzini and Alfonso La Marmora are called. “I participate in holy society with humility. Repeat after me: 'I swear I deny everything. Up to the seventh generation ”, says the chairman. “To keep the honor of my wise brothers. Under the light of the stars and the beauty of the moon I form the sacred chain. ”At the end the three national heroes are called again. The newly admitted must promise that if they commit serious misconduct they will either kill themselves with poison or shoot themselves. “It is not people who judge you, but you yourself. You always have to have a bullet for yourself.” The vows differ from clan to clan, but the swearing is always the same.
Neapolitan Camorra ('o sistema)
Among the Camorristi, an oath reads as follows: "I swear on my honor to remain loyal to the organization as the organization remains loyal to me."
Apulian Sacra Corona Unita
In order to promise to place the organization above friends and family, an oath of the Sacra Corona Unita reads: "I swear to deny my father, mother, brothers and sisters in the interests of the organization."
Japanese mafia or yakuza
Yakuza maintain an elaborate reception ritual in which traditional clothing is worn and the future Kobun (Japanese son), or the lowest link in the chain, his oyabun (Japanese father) or Kumichō (Japanese gang leader) loyalty and loyalty, up to to swear to death. During the ceremony, both the initiate and the boss drink a sake mixture, after which they exchange the cups and drink from the other's cup. It is believed that the sake blend contains the blood of both parties in order to bind the initiate to his boss through the exchange, like a son to his father.
Chinese mafia, or the triads
Similar to the Cosa Nostra or the Yakuza, triad members also tend to have initiation ceremonies. A typical ceremony takes place at an altar dedicated to Guan Yu , with incense and an animal sacrifice (usually a chicken, pig or goat). After drinking a mixture of wine and blood from the animal or the aspirant, he makes the 36 triad vows under a bow of swords, which include secrecy, loyalty and various agonizing deaths if the vows are violated. The paper on which the oaths are written is burned on the altar to confirm the new member's commitment to fulfilling their duties to the gods. Three fingers on the left hand are held up as a binding gesture.
In art: initiation rituals of the Cosa Nostra
- In the film The Mob - The Godfather of Manhattan (Witness to the Mob) , the recording ritual of Sammy Gravano ("Sammy the Bull") is filmed, which is performed by Paul Castellano ("Big Paul").
- In the fourth episode of the 6-part Italian mini-series The Boss of the Bosses (Il capo dei capi) , Giuseppe Greco (“Pino”) filmed the admission ritual performed by Salvatore Riina (“Totò”).
- In the film The Valachi Papers , the admission ritual of Joe Valachi ("Joe") is filmed, which is performed by Joe Masseria ("Joe").
- In the HBO series The Sopranos (season 3, episode 3), a recording ritual between two gangsters in the fictional DiMeo family (soprano family) is filmed.
- In the film Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn , a ritual of three gangsters is filmed in the fictional Carana family.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Gambetta: The Sicilian Mafia. Pp. 262-270 ff.
- ↑ Peter Maas: The Underboss. HarperTorch, 1997. ISBN 9780061096648
- ↑ Diego Gambetta: The Godfather's Company: The Sicilian Mafia and their Business Practices. dtv, Munich 1994. ISBN 3-423-30417-0 .
- ↑ Arnold H. Lubasch: Admitted Members of Mafia Tells of Oath and Deadly Punishment. The New York Times. October 30, 1985, Late City Final Edition ed. Web.
- ↑ Mafia oath presented for jurors in: Edmund Mahony: The Hartford Courant. 4th July 1991
- ^ David L. Chandler: Brothers In Blood: The Rise of the Criminal Brotherhoods. Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, Toronto, Vancouver 1975.
- ↑ The police are filming the Mafia's recording ritual for the first time. Die Welt, November 13, 2014
- ↑ Mafia oaths: "By the light of the stars". ( Memento from January 26, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Frankfurter Rundschau (online), November 20, 2014
- ↑ The Mafia and its rituals: Blood toll up to "ten commandments". May 18, 2016
- ↑ a b How mobsters get 'made'. The Independent
- ↑ Christopher Gerteis, Timothy S. George (Ed.): Japan Since 1945 . From Postwar to Post-Bubble. A&C Black, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4411-0118-1 , pp. 97 .
- ^ Pequod Rivista - Initiation rituals and organized crime: Mafia, Triads and Yakuza
- ^ Gertz: “Like other organized crime groups, triads have elaborate initiation ceremonies similar to those of the Italian mafia […]” in the Washington Times
- ↑ Feature Articles 378 . AmericanMafia.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.