Secret Societies

Secret Societies, organizations in which the members are usually bound by an oath of secrecy. Secret societies often require an elaborate form of initiation and ritual use of symbols, passwords, and handshakes as a means of recognition among members.

In ancient Greece the Pythagoreans combined philosophy and politics. In the Middle East and parts of Asia, some Muslim sects were founded as secret societies, notably the Assassins, who were organized in Persia (now Iran) in the 12th century. In Europe unorthodox religious groups, such as the early Christians or the Manichaean sects, have frequently been forced to practise secrecy to avoid persecution.

During the Middle Ages, members of merchant guilds were usually bound to secrecy for economic protection; one of the largest secret societies in the world, the Freemasonry society, originated in the 14th century as a guild of craftsmen. During this time, also, criminal jurisdiction was sometimes exercised by such secret tribunals as the courts of the Veme, a type of vigilante organization, which became extremely powerful in Westphalia, Germany, during the 15th century.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, secret societies were formed for scientific inquiry or political subversion. Some, such as the Rosicrucian order, mixed science with mysticism. Others became important centres of political dissent. The Sons of Liberty was created in the American colonies in the 18th century to resist British oppression. In the 19th century, revolutionary secret societies such as the Carbonari in Italy, the Fenians in Ireland, and supporters of nihilism in Russia were important political forces. Other societies, notably the Mafia in Sicily and abroad, were established to organize criminal activities and to protect their members.

In the United States, some secret societies were created during the 19th and 20th centuries for protective or terrorist purposes, among them the Knights of the Golden Circle and the Ku Klux Klan. One of the principal reasons for the organization of secret societies in the United States and Europe during the 20th century has been philanthropy and the mutual benefit of the members. In the United States, the fraternal element has been traditionally predominant; secret organizations have also been an important feature of university life.

Secret societies are common among peoples in Melanesia and in parts of Africa. They are also found among some Native American tribes of North America, particularly the Pueblo and the Plains peoples. These societies are usually organized solely for religious purposes, but in some areas they exert a powerful force on the economic and political life of the community.

Secret societies have a long history in China, perhaps partly because of strong state suppression of any openly heterodox movement. Many were cults linked with Chinese religion, professing millenarian forms of primitive Daoism or Buddhism, others were actively political or martial arts brotherhoods, or a combination of both. Secret societies were active in almost every major rebellion or dynastic struggle in Chinese history. The anti-Manchu White Lotus Society rose up against the Qing dynasty in 1796; the Small Sword Society led an uprising around Shanghai in 1853; and White Lotus brotherhoods formed the nucleus of antiforeign forces in the Boxer Rebellion. Related organizations, the Triads, became the nucleus of organized crime in China and amongst overseas Chinese communities. In Japan, nationalist societies sprang up during the 19th century to oppose the Tokugawa; after the Meiji Restoration, some such as the Black Dragon Society, were important in fostering Japanese militarism. The Japanese yakuza are among the most pervasive or criminal brotherhoods in any developed society.