As he readies himself for bed, Okonkwo hears the town crier inform the village that every man in Umuofia must gather at the marketplace in the morning. Alone in his hut, Okonkwo wonders about the reason for the gathering. War, perhaps? He remembers that during the latest war he was the first to bring home a human head, his fifth. On special occasions he would drink palm-wine from his first human head trophy.
The next day Okonkwo is among the ten-thousand or so men gathered at the marketplace. Ogbuefi Ezeugo, a powerful orator, relays the news: An Umuofian woman had been murdered while at the market in Mbaino. After much consternation, it is decided that an ultimatum is to be issued to Mbaino. Either they offer a young man and a virgin as recompense.....
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