Puka in Hawaiian means "hole"......Puka shells have a hole, that makes them very easy to string up into a puka shell necklace.
Going back in my memories....Petty cool to grow up on Oahu.....A lot of exploring, catching crawdads, crabs, bullfrogs, gekos, cameleons and using the hawaiian sling to spearfish.....Even went eel fishing at least once a week for dinner.....Not much school, played hookie more than attending grade school....Body surfing and when the rains come you go mud sliding at a water hole, slide down a red mud trail, then about a 10 ft drop to the pool of water below.
It was a great time to grow up with my twin brother in the 70's in Hawaii.....It was still an island paradise back then.