Umuofia Tribe

The two tribes in Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, must solve their differences after a member of the Mbaino tribe killed the wife of a member of the Umuofia tribe. Their solution to this problem was to take a virgin to replace the killed woman, and a young man named Ikemefuna from Mbaino. Eventually, the young boy was killed as a sacrifice by Okonkwo and his fellow tribesmen. This event was both surprising and unnecessary. There are a few other steps these tribes could have taken to restore peace between themselves. Some solutions might have been punishing only the man responsible for the killing, the guilty clansman apologizing and admitting he was wrong, or the Mbaino tribe offering a sort of compensation to the Umuofia tribe.
The two tribes could resolve their conflict by the Umuofia only punishing the man responsible for the murder.
Much like our justice system now in the United States, these two tribes could function under the pretext that if you commit the crime, you do the time. Punishing the guilty party by putting him in prison or putting him to death would be fair to both sides of this crime. Umuofia could feel as if they had seen justice for the killing and the Mbaino would not feel as if they had been taken advantage of by the other tribe. In order for this to happen, the two tribes would need to meet and discuss the terms of an agreement. For this to be unobjective, the clan leaders should ask men from both of the different tribes how they feel the killer must be dealt with, and take those suggestions into consideration. However, the final decision should be given to the Umuofia clan and it’s leaders because the crime was committed against someone in their tribe. Okonkwo would then be able to take custody of the guilty clansmen and take him back to Umuofia to be punished. This method would be an effective way to get the community involved in the decisions being made and come to a
consensus. Another way to solve this issue would be for the Mbaino to admit what they did was wrong.
This solution would also include a meeting between the two tribes. Not only does this require a sincere apology from the guilty clansman of Mbaino, it also entails those from Umuofia to be willing to forgive. Taking responsibility for actions is a respectable character trait in any person. Likewise, the ability to forgive is equally as respectable. However, both of these traits are very hard for a person to encompass. It would be extremely difficult for either of these tribes, who are centered around the idea of masculinity, to show what they perceive as weakness. The Mbaino going to Umuofia, in this instance, would be the best course of action to take. This would show that the Mbaino tribe is truly remorseful for what occurred and that they would like to correct the situation as quickly as possible. These tribes would not even think about this option because the customs of their people does not support it. However, this is could be a valid answer to their dispute if both tribes were willing to be vulnerable
together. A final solution to restore peace between the two tribes would be for Mbaino to offer a compensation to Umuofia for any wrongdoing. In the book, Okonkwo went to Mbaino demanding a virgin and a young man in return for the death of the clansman’s wife. However, it would strengthen the relationship of the tribes more if instead of being forced into compensating with the threat of war, the Mbaino tribe offered something to the Umuofia of their own free will. This simple act would acknowledge the fact that a clan member of Mbaino was at fault in the incident, while simultaneously correcting that wrong. That’s not to say what they give Umuofia must still be a virgin and a young man. Now, they could choose themselves what to pay as a tribute. This would help bridge the gap growing between the two tribes as well as allow the community to help decide what should be given as a compensation for the crime. These two tribes in Niger have many traditional ways to handle any wrongdoings between the two. However their are other ways to solve conflict. Such as, placing the blame solely the man who committed the crime, the responsible clansman taking ownership of his actions and apologizing, or the Mbaino tribe offering up a tribute to the Umuofia tribe as compensation. There is very little reason to believe that either tribe would agree to any of these three solutions, yet they all solve the same problem in a less harsh or violent way than was solved in the book. The crime committed by the Mbaino tribe is irreversible, yet in many ways it could help strengthen the bond between these primitive tribes.