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. Its members call themselves " men of honour ", although the public often refers to them as mafiosi.
By the 20th century, wide-scale emigration from Sicily led to 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.
The Sicilian word mafie refers to the caves near Trapani and Marsala , [ 4 ] 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:. The public's association of the word with the criminal secret society was perhaps inspired by the play " I mafiusi di la Vicaria [ it ] " "The Mafiosi of the Vicaria" by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaspare Mosca.
