Late at night Okonkwo hears the town crier’s ogene summoning every man of Umuofia to the market the next morning. The crier’s tone hints at tragedy. The following morning ten‑thousand men gather in the market. Ogbuefi Ezeugo, a powerful orator, repeatedly chants “Umuofia kwenu” and then points to the neighboring clan Mbaino, declaring that “those sons of wild animals have dared to murder a daughter of Umuofia.” He explains that the woman was the wife of Ogbuefi Udo and was killed at the Mbaino market. The assembly erupts in anger and decides to issue an ultimatum to Mbaino: either war or compensation in the form of a young man and a virgin.

Okonkwo is chosen as the emissary of war. He travels to Mbaino, is treated with honor, and returns two days later bearing a fifteen‑year‑old boy and a young virgin. The boy is named Ikemefuna. The elders (ndichie) meet to discuss the report. They decide that the virgin will become the wife of Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife, while Ikemefuna belongs to the clan as a whole. Okonkwo is instructed to look after Ikemefuna, and he places the boy in his household.

The narrative then shifts to a description of Okonkwo’s household. He rules with a heavy hand; his three wives each have their own hut behind his obi, forming a half‑moon shape within a red‑earth wall. The compound includes a barn filled with yam stacks, a goat shed, and a small “medicine house” shrine where Okonkwo offers kola nuts, food, and palm‑wine to his personal gods and ancestors. His youngest wife lives in perpetual fear of his temper, as do his children. Okonkwo’s internal fear—of failure and of resembling his lazy father Unoka—dominates his life. He recalls his childhood resentment of his father’s weakness and the taunt that Unoka was an agbala (a man without title).

Okonkwo’s eldest son, Nwoye, is twelve and already showing signs of laziness that cause him anxiety. Okonkwo constantly nags and beats him, fearing that Nwoye will become like Unoka. The chapter ends with Ikemefuna’s fear and confusion as he is handed over to Okonkwo’s senior wife, who is instructed to care for him.