The Umuofia follow a traditional ritual to determine a bride-price; the bride's family presents the groom's family with a sum (represented by broomsticks) and the other party adds or subtracts sticks as they see fit. They exchange the bundle of broomsticks several times, until the two groups finally agree also The village of Umuofia is the symbolic heart of Things Fall Apart, as well as the setting for much of the novel's action. Umuofia, where the protagonist, Okonkwo, lives for most of the novel, serves to represent Nigerian village society, both before and after contact with the colonizing forces of the British Empire.
