Female figure of the "komtin" society

wood, base

According to records of a Montol figurine donated by Hanns Vischer to the Museum für Völkerkunde in Basel in 1905, these figurines were kept in small, grass-thatched stone houses ("dodo").

These houses were reserved for purposes of worship, out of sight of women and children. They were used to pass sentence after due deliberation, and were also employed in divination rituals organized to find the cause of an illness or to find a cure.

The figures belong to a secret male society called "komtin". The activities of this society seem primarily involved in curing rites and herbalism.