'Ndrina

The 'ndrina (Italian: [nˈdriːna], plural: 'ndrine; Calabrian: [ɳˈɖɽiːna], plural: 'ndrini) is the basic unit of the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, made up of blood relatives, and is the equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia’s "family" or cosca.[1][2][3] The word derives from Greek, meaning "a man who does not bend".[citation needed] Each 'ndrina is "autonomous on its territory and no formal authority stands above the 'ndrina boss." The 'ndrina is usually in control of a small town or a neighbourhood in larger cities, even outside Calabria, in cities and towns in the industrial North of Italy, in and around Turin and Milan.[1]
If more than one 'ndrina operates in the same town, they form a locale, the main local organizational unit of the 'Ndrangheta with jurisdiction over an entire town or an area in a large urban center.[3][4] In some cases, sub- 'ndrine have been established. The 'ndrine enjoy a high degree of autonomy – they have a leader, the capobastone, and independent staff. In some contexts the 'ndrine have become more powerful than the locale on which they formally depend.[4]
Blood family and membership of the crime family overlap to a great extent within the 'Ndrangheta. By and large, the 'ndrine consist of men belonging to the same family lineage, under the command of the capobastone.[1][2][3] Salvatore Boemi, Anti-mafia prosecutor in Reggio Calabria, told the Italian Antimafia Commission that "one becomes a member for the simple fact of being born in a mafia family," although other reasons might attract a young man to seek membership, and non-kin have also been admitted.[1]
Marriages help cement relations within each 'ndrina and to expand membership. As a result, a few blood families constitute each group, hence "a high number of people with the same last name often end up being prosecuted for membership of a given 'ndrina." Since there is no limit to the membership of a single unit, bosses try to maximize descendants.[1]
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- (in Italian) Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006). Fratelli di sangue, Cosenza: Pellegrini Editore, ISBN 88-8101-373-8
- Nicaso, Antonio & Marcel Danesi (2013). Made Men: Mafia Culture and the Power of Symbols, Rituals, and Myth, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, ISBN 978-1-4422-2227-4
- Paoli, Letizia (2003). Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style, New York: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-515724-9 (Review by Klaus Von Lampe) (Review by Alexandra V. Orlova)
- Varese, Federico. How Mafias Migrate: The Case of the 'Ndrangheta in Northern Italy, Discussion Papers in Economic and Social History, Number 59, University of Oxford, July 2005
- ^ Although the province has been effectively replaced by the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, the old subdivision is maintained for historical reasons