Okonkwo's legendary wrestling victory over Amalinze the Cat establishes his fame; his harsh personality and disdain for his lazy father Unoka are detailed, along with Unoka's debts and a visit from Okoye who pressures Unoka for repayment while seeking the Idemili title. The chapter ends by noting Okonkwo’s rise as a wealthy, titled warrior and introduces the future sacrificial boy Ikemefuna. A war is called after the neighboring clan Mbaino murders a Umuofia woman; Okonkwo leads the emissary mission, returns with the boy Ikemefuna and a virgin as compensation; Ikemefuna is placed in Okonkwo’s household for three years, and the chapter details Okonkwo’s fear‑driven dominance, his large compound, and the emerging laziness of his son Nwoye. Okonkwo, lacking inheritance, secures seed yams from the wealthy titled man Nwakibie after pleading for help; he receives eight hundred seeds, then experiences a catastrophic agricultural year marked by severe drought, scorching heat, and later torrential rains that destroy crops, leaving him with only his seed yams to rebuild. The chapter also details Unoka’s fatal consultation with the Oracle Agbala, his death from swelling in the Evil Forest, and the supernatural rituals surrounding his burial. Okonkwo brutally beats his youngest wife Ojiugo during the sacred Week of Peace, incurring a public reprimand and a ritual penalty from the priest Ezeani, who demands specific offerings. The village elders recount the ancient severity of this offense. Afterwards Okonkwo prepares seed‑yams, endures unusually heavy rains, and leads his household in planting. Ikemefuna becomes fully accepted in Okonkwo’s family, bonding closely with Nwoye, while the community moves from planting to the brief lull before harvest. The New Yam Festival approaches, bringing elaborate preparations, a sacrifice, and a community feast followed by a wrestling contest. Okonkwo, still restless, beats his second wife Ekwefi over a trivial matter and mishandles his old gun, nearly shooting her. The household celebrates the festival; Ekwefi’s love of wrestling and her ten‑year‑old daughter Ezinma are highlighted, and other family members—Okonkwo’s first wife, Nwoye’s sister Obiageli, and Nkechi, the third wife’s daughter—appear for the meals and the contest. At the New Yam Festival wrestling contest, Maduka (Obierika’s son) wins the opening bout; later Okafo defeats Ikezue in the final, earning village acclaim. Ekwefi learns from priestess Chielo that Ezinma is healthy, and the conversation confirms Okonkwo’s earlier near‑shooting incident. Ikemefuna lives three years with Okonkwo’s family, becoming a brother to Nwoye and fostering Nwoye’s masculine habits; a great swarm of locusts arrives, providing a rare feast for the village; the Oracle of the Hills and Caves decrees Ikemefuna’s death, and despite an elder’s warning Okonkwo joins the party that kills him; Nwoye witnesses his father’s act, breaks down emotionally, marking his first profound loss. Okonkwo endures a two‑day fast and intense grief after Ikemefuna’s death; he seeks distraction by visiting Obierika, where they argue about the Oracle’s decree, the Ozo title, and the strange death of Ogbuefi Ndulue and his wife Ozoemena. The gathering then turns to the bride‑price negotiation for Akueke, resulting in a settled price of twenty bags of cowries. Ezinma falls ill with iba; Ekwefi calls the renowned medicine man Okagbue Uyanwa, who locates and destroys Ezinma’s iyi‑uwa beneath an orange tree, ending her ogbanje cycle and restoring her health; Ekwefi’s tragic history of ten children, nine of whom died, and her belief in ogbanje are revealed. The clan convenes an egwugwu ceremony where Uzowulu presents a bride‑price dispute involving his wife Mgbafo; Odukwe, Mgbafo’s brother, counters with accusations of repeated abuse. The egwugwu, led by the spirit Evil Forest, adjudicates, ordering Uzowulu to bring wine and his wife back and granting Odukwe’s sister’s return, after which a separate land case begins.