The symbols and construction of the drum show the importance of divination within Senufo Society and of the role of women. The drum itself is a visual demonstration of how women and divination are intertwined tying to its construction as well as its use. While the majority of Membranophone drums are associated with males for agricultural competition based purposes and some ceremonial occasions, caryatid drums such as this one, are notable for their playing by women for funerary commencement within the Sandogo and the Poro Societies. The members of a ton villa (a farming centered group consisting of young men and women) utilize music within agricultural competitions as a means of managing work productivity. The music itself creates a competitive atmosphere where each member attempts to out do the other. In hoeing competitions for example:""The competitors raise their hoes above their shoulders and bend low to cut deep into the soil. The quality of their work is as important as their speed. Women of the ton vala provide an important part of the music as they sing and play sichaala and sichaa-gun-go gourd rattles. Whether they join a djegele ensemble in the field, or sing as an independent group, they encourage the spirit of competition through songs of praise for each man's efforts. As the young farmers hoe their way through the fields, the musicians follow."" Senufo culture is matrilineal, with certain positions such as the artisans being determined by matrilineal inheritance. Of the four Senufo societies, which educate and govern the individual acts of people, the divination governing "sandogo" society is, notwithstanding those few men who inherit the position, mostly women. While ruled by elder male leaders, ones place in society, as well as their position for the future, is determined by the lineage of the mother For the sandogo divination society, the drum would have been of great utilitarian importance. In particular, would have been used to summon spirits, played at ceremonial occasions such as funerals or memorials, and also at initiation ceremonies for young men in the tribe as they passed into adulthood. The drums design, of the load bearing woman representing social and moral responsibility, has its roots in ceremony. In fact, the funerary associations of the drum can be seen to be drawn from one of the most important Senufo ceremonial events, a "Kuumo" or "great funeral". The ceremony draws hundreds of visitors who come to commemorate the lives of community elders who recently passed within a few years, as well as the spirits of the community's ancestral dead.