In Recupero (1987: 313) we discover that the mafia ritual has the distinct flavor of a simplified version of the rituals of the Carboneria—a nineteenth-century political fraternity which fought for Italy's independence—and, more remotely, of the Freemasons. The initiation ritual of the Carboneria involves knives, blindfolds, blood, fire, and the invocation of a saint—Saint Theobald, protector of the sect. The climax is also familiar: "I consent, and wish, if I perjure myself, that my body may be cut in pieces, then burnt, and my ashes scattered to the wind" (MacKenzie 1967: 324-327).

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 395