Yesterday, when John Cohen spoke at the Choctaw Tribal Schools System convocation, he was presented with his own handcrafted kabocca.
“Hey Ethan, what on earth is a kabocca?”
Oh, hey, good question there. Well, kabocca, or stickball sticks, are a key part of one of the oldest (if not the oldest) and most revered sports to be played in Mississippi. It’s steep and rich in tradition. It’s a Choctaw sport. One that served as a replacement for war in dispute times. It’s a pretty big deal.
And John Cohen received his own handmade sticks, ornately wrapped and decorated in bead work.