12-24-2009, 06:04 AM
Puka just means hole, as Leilani guy said. There is, however, an odd connotation to it in Hawaiian. It is used for a wide variety of holes, from pinpricks to huge calderas. It is also considered, I think, a little funny as people always smile when they say it. Don't know why.
When I was a kid "puka shell" necklaces were popular on the mainland (there was a tiki craze). The puka is just the hole in the shell that you put the thread through.
In the case of my house, it is a large depression which is big enough to put a house in (and a patio). Consequently, my house appears to be at ground level, but is not. That depression is a puka. Although a depression is also a kapoho, as in the area called kapoho. Kapoho means depression (physical, not emotional or economic), or low-lying area.
Mr. Bill -- exactly. The way it works at my place is the land slopes up and then drops off. The inside of the puka was graded, and gravel was laid down. The P & P was built on that, but you don't see the P & P unless you go to the side of the house.....then you realize it is built up.
If I didn't have mobility issues and if I were building new with no puka, I would rather have post and pier. My biggest concern about slabs is that they are hard to lay properly and Hawaii Island has earthquakes. P & P gives. Slabs don't.
When I was a kid "puka shell" necklaces were popular on the mainland (there was a tiki craze). The puka is just the hole in the shell that you put the thread through.
In the case of my house, it is a large depression which is big enough to put a house in (and a patio). Consequently, my house appears to be at ground level, but is not. That depression is a puka. Although a depression is also a kapoho, as in the area called kapoho. Kapoho means depression (physical, not emotional or economic), or low-lying area.
Mr. Bill -- exactly. The way it works at my place is the land slopes up and then drops off. The inside of the puka was graded, and gravel was laid down. The P & P was built on that, but you don't see the P & P unless you go to the side of the house.....then you realize it is built up.
If I didn't have mobility issues and if I were building new with no puka, I would rather have post and pier. My biggest concern about slabs is that they are hard to lay properly and Hawaii Island has earthquakes. P & P gives. Slabs don't.