At a kindred meeting Okonkwo humiliates a man without titles, calling him a woman, and the assembly sides with him. An old man remarks on Okonkwo’s rapid rise from poverty, noting his brusqueness. The narrative returns to the war‑messenger duty that brought Ikemefuna and a virgin as compensation for the murder of Udo’s wife. Ikemefuna, initially terrified, is taken in by Nwoye’s mother, falls ill, recovers, and gradually becomes a lively, popular boy in Okonkwo’s household, even carrying Okonkwo’s stool at meetings and being called “father.”

During the Week of Peace Okonkwo’s youngest wife, Ojiugo, goes to plait her hair and delays returning home. Suspicious, Okonkwo searches for her, finds her children being fed by Nwoye’s mother, and, believing Ojiugo has been neglectful, beats her savagely when she finally returns—ignoring the sacred prohibition against violence during the week. Neighbors hear her cries; the priest of the earth goddess, Ezeani, summons Okonkwo, rebukes him, and orders a ritual sacrifice of a she‑goat, a hen, cloth, and a hundred cowries, which Okonkwo fulfills, feeling inward repentance but refusing to admit fault publicly. Elders discuss how breaking the peace was once punished by dragging the offender to death, a practice now abandoned, and note that some other clans cast the dead into the Evil Forest during the week.

Following the punishment, Okonkwo spends days inspecting and preparing seed‑yams, splitting oversized ones with a sharp knife. He tasks Nwoye and Ikemefuna with fetching and counting the seeds, criticizing their effort and threatening violence if they err. He stresses the importance of yam farming as a test of manhood. Heavy rains arrive, persisting for days, after which the family, with hoes and machetes, plants the yams in straight rows, erects stakes, and the women sow maize, melons, and beans between the mounds. The rains eventually lessen, allowing children to play outside and sing. Ikemefuna, now fully integrated, continues to tell folktales, deepening his bond with Nwoye, who recalls these stories vividly into old age.