A Racial Study of the Fijians Part 5

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 31-62 46.7 3.4 7.3 Interior 154 40-61 47.6 3.4 7.1 East 120 38-53 45.5 3.0 6.6 Coast 210 38-62 46.4 3.3 7.1 N.W. 79 31-57 47.4 3.6 7.6 Fiji (Howells) 133 37-54 46.19 3.0 6.0 Solomons (Howells) 85 34-51 44.6 2.8 6.3 Tonga (Sullivan) 117 38-55 44.4 3.0 6.8

Broad noses are common to most Fijians. The greatest contrast is between the narrower-nosed eastern people and the interior people, among whom the widest noses occur. The nose of the Solomon Islanders is somewhat narrower, according to Howells' data, and the Tongan average is also lower.

_Nasal Index_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 61-112 87.1 8.2 9.4 Interior 154 69-109 89.7 8.1 9.0 East 120 61-100 83.2 7.6 9.1 Coast 210 63-111 86.0 7.1 8.7 N.W. 79 63-110 89.9 8.6 9.6 Fiji (Howells) 133 68-123 88.8 8.3 9.3 Solomons (Howells) 85 68-119 87.1 8.9 10.2 Tonga (Sullivan) 117 61-98 77.6 7.6 9.8

Platyrrhini is the rule in Fiji, but individual and regional variations are great. There are some leptorrine subjects in every province, and there are some whose noses are broader than long. The interior people and the northwestern groups have the relatively broadest noses, whereas the eastern index is more moderate. The noses of Sullivan's Tongans are relatively longer than the Lauans. The Solomon Island average is identical with the Fijian.

_Nasal Depth_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 16-32 22.0 2.9 3.2 Interior 154 17-32 22.5 2.1 9.3 East 120 17-28 21.9 1.8 8.2 Coast 210 17-32 21.8 3.6 6.5 N.W. 79 16-29 22.3 1.9 8.5

Nasal depth averages 22 mm.; the regional variation is very small.

_Nasal-Depth Index_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 32-60 47.2 6.8 6.8 Interior 154 34-59 47.4 5.1 6.6 East 120 35-60 48.4 4.6 9.5 Coast 210 32-58 47.0 8.1 7.2 N.W. 79 34-58 47.2 5.5 6.7

_Mouth Breadth_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 29-72 57.6 4.7 8.2 Interior 154 34-72 59.6 4.4 7.4 East 120 33-66 56.5 3.9 6.9 Coast 210 29-67 57.3 4.0 7.0 N.W. 79 36-65 57.3 4.4 7.8

Mouth breadth averages show the interior groups to have widest mouths, the eastern people least wide, and the coastal and northwestern people intermediate.

_Lip Thickness_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 9-45 22.4 3.8 6.9 Interior 154 12-31 23.4 3.6 5.4 East 120 12-29 21.7 3.4 5.7 Coast 210 16-45 20.8 3.6 5.3 N.W. 79 10-29 22.0 3.9 5.7

Thick lips are characteristic of most Fijians. The interior average is highest for this diameter, whereas the northwestern Fijians have least-thick lips.

_Ear Length_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 55-83 66.6 4.5 6.8 Interior 154 53-83 66.0 4.8 7.3 East 120 55-80 67.2 5.0 7.4 Coast 210 55-77 66.7 4.9 7.3 N.W. 79 57-75 66.5 3.7 5.6 Tonga (Sullivan) 117 56-81 66.0 4.6 6.9

Fijian ears on the whole tend to be long, as the average 66.6 mm.

indicates. Regional differences are slight. Tongans closely resemble Fijians.

_Ear Breadth_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 24-55 34.3 3.2 9.3 Interior 154 27-41 33.7 2.5 7.4 East 120 29-40 34.1 4.0 11.7 Coast 210 29-55 34.7 3.9 11.2 N.W. 79 25-42 33.8 2.9 8.6 Tonga (Sullivan) 116 25-42 34.5 2.6 7.6

Ear breadth is also generous, and regional differences hardly exceed 1.5 mm., including the Tongans.

_Ear Index_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 38-62 51.6 5.0 9.7 Interior 154 40-61 51.1 3.6 7.0 East 120 41-59 50.6 5.8 11.5 Coast 210 42-62 52.1 6.7 12.9 N.W. 79 38-59 50.9 4.0 7.9 Tonga (Sullivan) 116 41-62 52.4 3.9 7.5

Length-breadth ear ratios indicate that coastal groups have somewhat broader, and the northwestern people the relative longest, ears.

_Bicanine Breadth_

No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.

Total sample 815 24-72 39.8 11.7 19.4 Interior 154 37-49 39.9 10.7 16.8 East 120 36-68 41.8 7.4 7.7 Coast 210 24-72 39.0 13.4 14.3 N.W. 79 38-49 38.6 14.0 16.3

Bicanine breadth is characteristically great among Fijians, reflecting the ample jaws and teeth. Widest diameters are seen in the east, followed by the hill people of the interior. The northwestern groups have the least bicanine diameter.

MORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS

PIGMENTATION

_Skin Color: Exposed_

Brunet Swarthy Lt. Brn Med. Brn Dk. Brn Black Total

No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %

Total sample 1 .01 5 .6 30 4 400 48 377 46 0 0 813 Interior 0 0 0 0 1 1 55 36 97 63 0 0 153 East 0 0 3 2 12 10 99 83 6 6 0 0 120 Coast 0 0 1 0 7 3 85 41 116 56 0 0 209 N.W. 0 0 0 0 1 1 42 53 36 46 0 0 79 Fiji II 0 0 0 0 0 0 128 96 5 4 0 0 133 Solomons 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 79 93 2 3 85 Tonga (Range from Lt. Brown to Dk. Brown.)

Color of skin includes exposed and unexposed areas. The former was observed on the face, since the Fijians do not use any kind of face or head covering. This condition in the total series divides itself quite evenly between medium brown and dark brown. A few have light-brown skin; only six individuals are cla.s.sified as swarthy and brunet. None was judged to be completely black. The Fijians of Howells' series are described as 96 per cent medium brown[15] and 5 per cent dark brown, a discrepancy I would attribute to personal judgment difference. The Solomon Islanders are markedly darker than the Fijians, the majority have dark-brown skin and 3 per cent are black, whereas 5 per cent have medium-brown complexions.

Tongan data on skin color cannot be directly adjusted to my statistics.

Sullivan's comment on their skin color states that it is "a medium yellowish-brown where it is unexposed to the sun. Exposed parts of the skin of a few of the persons were a very dark chocolate" (Sullivan, 1922, p. 248).

Among the Fijians themselves, the greatest contrasts occur between the eastern and the interior groups of Viti Levu. Where 63 per cent of the latter have dark-brown skin, only 5 per cent of eastern fall into this category. The bulk of eastern (83 per cent) have medium-brown skin as against 36 per cent of hill people. The coastal and northwestern provinces are, like the total series, more evenly divided between medium and dark brown.