A similar type of figure in the Museum der Kulturen Basel, was identified by Fritz Sarasin as one associated with the bringing of rain. “It is probable that most of these figures were associated with ancestor worship. They, and in fact all of the sculptures of New Caledonia, were carved by artists who had been selected not only because they were skilled craftsman, but because they had a relationship to the supernatural spirits they represented in their works.” (Davenport in Wardwell 1994:150)
