The Mafia owed its origins and drew its members from the many small private armies, or mafie, that were hired by absentee landlords to protect their landed estates from bandits in the lawless conditions that prevailed over much of Sicily through the centuries.
Maffia juured on pärit ning ta sai endale uusi liikmeid arvukatest väikestest eraarmeedest ehk mafie’dest, kelle olid oma maavalduste bandiitide eest kaitsmiseks palganud mujal elutsevad suurmaaomanikud neil sajanditel, mil suuremas osas Sitsiilias lokkas seadusetus.