The village is a place where tradition rules. The play opens with Lakunle rejecting the traditional notion of paying Sidi's bride price. He doesn't believe that he should have to; he's a modern man who believes the village will catch up with his sensibilities soon. He even mocks Baroka for rejecting a plan that would modernize the village more with infrastructure. However, Baroka shows that tradition and modernization can both work as long as modernization is slowly integrated into the community. He acquires a stamp machine and plans to create stamps as a way forward. He rejected what Lakunle wanted because it would have been too fast for the population. The play shows that tradition is a good thing and doesn't have to stand in the way of slow, measured progress.