Malian old wooden pestle

A great old long wooden pestle from Timbuktu in Mali. It features a fantastic engraved decoration.They are used in the Sahel and vast areas in sub-Saharan Africa to grind the millet in a wooden mortar by rythmically beating it with the long wooden pestle. Sometimes two people do that by beating in turn the millet inside the mortar in a captivating cadence. Beautiful patina. An outstanding ethnographic piece.