It's for digging holes.

You step on the flat tabs around the top to drive it into the ground like a triple shovel. You attach a rope to the eye in the middle and pull up to remove the device from the hole. Pulling in the center causes the hinged center bits to contract; the curved rods holding the top together slide through their fittings enabling the top to expand; the whole construction grasps the dirt it surrounds enabling you to pull all that dirt from the hole.