Finally, the fundamental symbolic gestures remain elementary and unembellished. Were the descriptions merely concocted to fool an audience, they would be more elaborate and unnaturally precise, for exaggeration and the wish to impress are inseparable. The fact that mafiosi are generally well-versed in the art of impressing others makes the simplicity and directness of their ritual all the more striking. It possesses a concentration of evocative power typical of ritual in oral cultures. Everything converges on the blood spilled on the card, which is then set on fire: the two original symbols become indistinguishable, la stessa cosa. The details may be forgettable; the essence clearly is not.

QUESTION: Is simplicity genuinely a reliable marker of authenticity in ritual, or is simplicity itself a crafted aesthetic? This warrants further thought.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 393