Omertà

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Omertà [omerˈta] in the narrower sense denotes the confidentiality of members of the Mafia and similar criminal organizations towards outsiders and is part of the organization's code of honor . A person who violates this and especially cooperates with the authorities is called Pentito (Italian: "repentant" and "confessor").

The Mafia expects this unwritten law of silence to a greater extent also from non-members, affected victims and potential witnesses . In Sicily in particular , it is therefore anchored in the population not to make themselves available as a witness. For this reason, the accused do not clear up unjustified suspicions, but instead even accept a false conviction or punishment.

"Cu è surdu, orbu e taci, campa cent 'anni' mpaci"

"Those who are deaf, blind and dumb will live in peace for a hundred years."

- Sicilian proverb

etymology

The etymology of Omertà is unclear. Both the Camorra concept of submission and humility ( umiltà ) are mentioned as the origin - omerta (or omirtà ) means in southern Italian dialects umiltà - and the Sicilian term for the man: omu . The word has been traceable in this sense since around 1800.

Originally, omertà, as part of an archaic, male concept of honor, means that you "regulate your own things": "A man has to take care of justice, honor and vengeance himself."

function

The Omertà prohibits members of the association from talking to non-members about internal matters. The part of this rule that is perceived by the public relates to the observable refusal to give evidence to state organs, in particular the police and the judiciary , i. In other words, not only are no statements made about the activities of the organization, but the existence of the group or membership is kept secret or even actively denied.

"Never open your mouth, unless you're in the dentist's chair."

"Never open your mouth unless you are sitting on the dentist's chair."

- Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

The omertà principle of silence goes beyond this isolation from the outside and is also an isolation from the inside, i. That is, even within the organization, low-ranking members never have complete information. Since the communication channels are strictly hierarchical, i. H. the chain of command is generally not circumvented, the omertà supports this isolation from the top.

“Each one is a wall that protects the guy above. Suppose you want to do a deal with Tamelo [ Enrico "Henry" Tameleo : underboss of the Patriarca family]. You can't do business (directly) with Tamelo. You have to do business with someone below. We now imagine a wall. When you come to me, I am the wall. You won't get any further. If I did business with you, and then Tamelo, you would never know about it. You can hand me over to the police, but never Tamelo, because I wouldn't talk ... "

- Vincent Teresa

By preventing information, the omertà limits the prisoner's dilemma problem . In order to enforce the omertà, a violation of this confidentiality obligation is usually punishable by death; In addition, an inmate is aware that his relatives are (often) cared for while in custody, but are also to be viewed as hostages who can be punished in the form of collective liability.

"In the circle in which I travel, a dumb man is more dangerous than a hundred rats."

"In the circles in which I frequent a stupid [en:" dumb "= original" dumb "but also - as here -" stupid "] man is more dangerous than a hundred rats [en:" rat "= original" Rat "but also - as here -" traitor "]."

- Joe Valachi : Quoted in the Herald Tribune on September 27, 1963 after a hearing in the US Senate

Adaptations in film, music, literature and games

literature

  • Anton Blok: The Mafia of a Sicilian Village, 1860-1960. A study of violent peasant entrepreneurs. Reissued. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights IL 1988, ISBN 0-88133-325-5 (original 1974).
  • Humbert S. Nelli: The Business of Crime. Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States. The University of Chicago Press Chicago IL et al. 1981, ISBN 0-226-57132-7 (original 1976).
  • Letizia Paoli : Mafia Brotherhoods. Organized Crime, Italian Style. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2003, ISBN 0-19-515724-9 .
  • Rick Porrello: The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia. Corn Sugar and Blood. Barricade books, New York NY 1995, ISBN 1-56980-058-8 .
  • Gaia Servadio: Mafioso. A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day. Secker & Warburg, London 1976, ISBN 0-436-44700-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stefan Gron: From men of honor and bearers of secrets ( Memento of the original of July 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 104 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / evakreisky.at
  2. ↑ Stefan Gron: From men of honor and bearers of secrets ( Memento of the original of July 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 104 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / evakreisky.at
  3. ↑ http://www.contextmag.com/archives/200102/Impact.asp?process=print ( Memento from March 22, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Wiseguy Wisdom on www.contextmag.com (English)
  4. ↑ Dagobert Lindlau : The Mob . dtv, Munich 1989, p. 74, ISBN 3-455-08659-4
  5. ↑ Omerta (browser game)

Web links

Wiktionary: Omertà  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations