AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I8 1280 34460 5665 8813Interior0 053 3587 5713 8153East0 038 3272 6010 8120Coast4 278 37113 5414 7209N.W.2 327 3447 594 479Tonga1 170 6045 390 0116
Forehead height is submedium in more than half the cases (55 per cent); the others are all medium. There is no significant variation among the subgroups.
A sloping forehead is quite characteristic of the Fijian head; 56 per cent are moderately sloping, 8 per cent are pronounced, and 34 per cent are submedium. Only 1 per cent have foreheads with no recession. Regional differences are very slight.
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I1 0170 21579 7163 8813Interior0 041 27103 679 6153East1 132 2785 712 2120Coast0 045 22144 6910 10209N.W.0 018 2356 716 679
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I1 063 8555 67194 24813Interior0 016 1096 6341 27153East1 13 377 6439 33120Coast0 010 5157 7542 20209N.W.0 04 557 7218 2379
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I0 01 0258 32554 68813Interior0 00 038 25115 75153East0 01 153 4466 55120Coast0 00 067 32142 68209N.W.0 00 024 3055 7079
StraightConcaveConvexTotalNo. %No. %No. %Fiji I777 990 036 4813Interior153 1000 00 0153East118 980 02 2120Coast196 940 013 6199N.W.78 990 01 179
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I0 054 7644 79115 14813Interior0 013 8124 8116 10153East0 01 198 8221 18120Coast0 010 5173 8326 12209N.W.0 07 960 7612 1579Tonga0 021 2281 709 8111
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I0 00 0265 33546 67813Interior0 00 029 19124 81153East0 00 072 6048 40120Coast0 00 062 30147 70209N.W.0 00 023 2956 7179
ConcaveStraightConvexTotalNo. %No. %No. %Fiji I14 2625 77173 21812Interior0 0123 8030 20153East1 188 7331 26120Coast4 2171 8234 16209N.W.1 159 7519 2479
Moderate nasion depression characterizes the majority of noses (71 per cent). Pronounced depression is recorded for 8 per cent, and submedium occurrence in 21 per cent. Only one individual lacks any depression. This distribution does not vary much among the provinces.
A well-elevated nasal root is also characteristic; 67 per cent show moderate elevation and 24 per cent pronounced, whereas 8 per cent are submedium; one individual is without any elevation. The interior Fijians have a little higher frequency of low nasal root (10 per cent), whereas the eastern people, with a 30 per cent incidence, excel in the pronounced category.
More striking is the breadth of the Fijian nasal root. It is pronouncedin 68 per cent and moderate in the remainder of the series. Pronounced breadth is commoner among the interior people (75 per cent) and least preponderant in the east (55 per cent).
The nasal septum is nearly always straight; the only departure from this condition is a 4 per cent incidence of convexity. Regional differences are not significant.
Nasal bridge height is commonly medium (79 per cent) in the totality of noses. Fourteen percent are pronouncedly high and 7 per cent are submedium. The several provinces do not depart very far from this distribution.
The Fijian nose shows a strong tendency to broadness of the bridge. Two-thirds show pronounced breadth of bridge and the remainder are medium. Pronounced broadness increases in the interior groups (81 per cent) and shows a marked decline in the east (40 per cent).
Nasal profiles are most often straight (77 per cent), but convex noses are not uncommon (21 per cent). Convexity is slightly more frequent in the east (26 percent), whereas in the coastal people its incidence drops to 16 per cent.
Subm.++++++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I1 0344 42461 581 0812Interior0 055 3698 640 0153East1 180 6739 330 0120Coast0 094 45114 551 1209N.W.0 027 3452 660 079
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I731 9057 724 30 0812Interior147 966 40 00 0153East109 916 55 40 0120Coast186 8916 87 30 0209N.W.71 906 82 30 079
CompressedMediumFlaringTotalNo. %No. %No. %Fiji I0 0198 24615 76813Interior0 025 16128 84153East0 070 5850 42120Coast0 042 20167 80209N.W.0 016 2063 8079
The nasal tip is pronounced more often than not, 58 per cent showing this condition. The remaining 42 per cent have tips of medium thickness. Thicker tips occur more often in the interior (64 per cent) and in the northwest (66 per cent), least often in the east (33 per cent).
Usually the nasal tip is not inclined downward. Slight and moderate inclination has a combined incidence of only 10 per cent.
Flaring nasal wings are a common condition (76 per cent). This incidence rises to 84 per cent in the interior and drops to 42 per cent in the east.
Subm.++++++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I19 2428 53364 452 0813Interior10 743 28100 650 0153East1 183 6936 300 0120Coast1 1/288 42119 571 1/2209N.W.4 539 4936 460 079Tonga12 1097 847 60 0116
Subm.++++++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I4 1/2608 75201 250 0813Interior1 1/2114 7538 250 0153East1 1100 8319 160 0120Coast2 1164 7843 210 0209N.W.0 055 7024 300 079Fiji II0 01 1/226 20106 80133Solomons0 00 012 1473 8685
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I12 1333 41444 5524 3813Interior0 063 4188 582 1153East8 777 6435 290 0120Coast0 063 30138 668 4209N.W.1 126 3351 651 179
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I33 4429 53343 428 1813Interior1 179 5273 480 0153East14 1277 6429 240 0120Coast6 3105 5094 454 2209N.W.3 444 5632 410 079
Fijian lips are Negroid in thickness in many instances. Membranous lips are thick in 45 per cent of the series, medium in 53 per cent, and submedium in 25 per cent. Thickest lips occur in the interior and coastal areas where the pronounced type registers 65 per cent and 57 per cent, respectively. In the east, lips are more moderate in thickness, and the pronounced category drops to 30 per cent.
Integumental lips also tend to be heavy but not so much as the mucous parts. Twenty-five per cent of the total Fijians have thick integumental lips and the remainder are moderate. Howells' Fiji II series classes 80 per cent as very pronounced and the remainder as pronounced. The Solomon Islanders, with an 86 per cent incidence of very pronounced, have the heaviest lips of all.
Lip eversion varies largely between moderate and submedium, 55 percent and 41 per cent, respectively. The interior and coastal Fijians show this trait a little more often than the others, whereas the eastern people have least lip eversion. The lip seam is present in nearly all cases, but not to a pronounced degree. Fifty-three per cent are submedium and 42 per cent are moderate. The eastern groups are definitely less endowed with this trait. The other provinces vary but little from the total distribution.
UnderE-ESubm. over+ overTotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I2 0518 64274 3413 2807Interior0 094 6159 390 0153East0 073 6145 382 2120Coast1 0130 6276 360 0207N.W.1 149 6223 293 476Fiji II4 350 3877 590 0131Solomons1 137 4545 540 083
AbsentSubm.(1-4)+ (5-8)++ (9-16)+++ (17-x)TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I645 7880 1058 722 38 1813Interior130 8416 103 21 13 2153East100 8310 124 32 14 3120Coast153 7329 1416 88 43 1209N.W.62 809 116 81 10 078
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I685 84115 1413 20 0813Interior134 8819 120 00 0153East100 8317 143 30 0120Coast180 8625 124 20 0209N.W.64 8114 180 00 078
CompleteIncompleteTotalNo. %No. %Fiji I796 9815 2811Interior153 1000 0153East119 991 1120Coast199 958 4207N.W.74 942 376
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I184 23443 54144 1842 5813Interior27 {18}58 {38}37 {24}31 {20}153East26 {22}69 {57}24 {20}1 {1}120Coast60 {29}120 {57}28 {13}1 {1/2}209N.W.12 {15}47 {60}17 {22}2 {3}78
The jaws of Fijians have a rather distinctive frequency of edge-to-edge bite. I recorded this as 64 per cent, but Howells' series indicates a 38 per cent incidence.
The quality of Fijian teeth as reflected by frequency of caries is excellent. Nearly 80 per cent of the total show no tooth decay. The soundest teeth from this standpoint occur in the interior, the east, and the northwest. The coastal people show the highest incidence of caries, an interesting point since many of this sample come from around Suva and have more access to the Western processed foods.
Tooth crowding is quite uncommon to Fijians, a condition consistent with their generous jaw conformation. Crowding is noted in only 16 per cent of the series, and most of it is slight.
Tooth eruption is complete in nearly all the subjects. A 2 per cent incidence of incomplete eruption is entirely due to the immaturity of some of the young adults. No pathological suppression was noted.
Some wear of the teeth is recorded for more than three-quarters of the series, but lacking age incidence, the data has limited meaning. The Fijian diet is not abrasive the way, for instance, it is for the Indians of our Southwest, where the staple food is ground in stone mills.
Subm.++++++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I230 28511 6372 90 0813Interior45 2999 659 60 0153East29 2474 6217 140 0120Coast58 28128 6123 110 0209N.W.24 3051 654 50 079
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I761 9436 415 21 0813Interior150 983 20 00 0153East112 936 52 20 0120Coast187 8913 64 41 0209N.W.77 972 30 00 079
SolderedAttachedFreeTotalNo. %No. %No. %Fiji I80 10531 65202 25813Interior47 3174 4832 21153East3 385 7132 27120Coast9 4141 6759 28209N.W.5 652 6622 2879
Subm.++++++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I176 22457 56178 222 0813Interior49 3266 4338 250 0153East16 1376 6327 231 1120Coast31 15123 5955 260 0209N.W.20 2547 5912 150 079
AbsentSubm.+++TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I2 0262 32463 5786 11813Interior1 147 3190 5915 10153East0 031 2677 6412 10120Coast1 075 36114 5519 9209N.W.0 026 3349 624 579
AbsentSubm.+TotalNo. %No. %No. %Fiji I416 51332 4165 8813Interior78 5167 448 5153East55 4652 4313 11120Coast118 5674 3517 8209N.W.38 4839 492 379
The Fijian ear is a moderately distinctive appendage from a racial standpoint. The helix shows moderate development on the whole and is submedium otherwise except for a 9 per cent incidence of pronounced appearance. Regional variation is small.
The Darwin's point is noted in a number of cases: 4 per cent to a submedium degree and 2 per cent medium.
The ear lobe is somewhat distinctive with a 65 per cent incidence of the attached condition and 10 per cent soldered. The remaining 25 per cent is free. This distinctiveness is more marked among the interior groups where the soldered type of lobe increases to 31 percent.
Ear-lobe size is moderate in more than half the series, pronounced in 22 per cent, and submedium in 22 per cent. Small lobes are commoner in the interior province.
Moderate ear protrusion is the commonest form followed by submedium. Marked projection is recorded as 11 per cent.
Ear slant either is lacking or slight in most instances; the series is rather evenly divided between these two categories, the zero category having a small majority. Moderate slant is noted for 8 per cent.
123456TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I260 32334 42126 1546 633 412 1811Interior49 3266 4326 175 36 41 1153East30 2554 4521 185 48 71 1119Coast77 3782 3928 1310 58 43 1209N.W.26 3334 439 116 82 32 379
123456TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I1 {0.1}2 {0.2}33 4131 16227 28419 52813Interior0 01 111 727 1841 2773 48153East1 10 02 214 1238 3265 54120Coast0 00 09 429 1467 32104 50209N.W.0 01 12 315 1914 1847 5979
123456TotalNo. %No. %No. %No. %No. %No. %Fiji I351 43195 24110 1488 1168 81 {0.1}813Interior54 3556 3713 815 1015 100 0153East49 4133 2815 1312 1011 90 0120Coast84 4051 2436 1718 919 91 1209N.W.39 4919 2411 146 84 50 079
Variations in body build have been expressed with the Sheldon method of somatotyping.[18]Accordingly, the Fijians are primarily and definitely mesomorphic, with endomorphy the second strongest component, and ectomorphy, third. About 80 per cent of the total series had a mesomorphic rating of 5 and 6 which leaves no doubt as to the prevailingly athletic physique. Endomorphy is seldom pronounced so that obesity may be described as no more than occasional. A pronounced linear build is likewise relatively infrequent.
The Fijian subgroups do not vary markedly from the over-all pattern.
The preceding data may be summarized from three points of view. The first will emphasize the physical features that are common to most Fijians. At the outset it should be pointed out that a "typical" Fijian does not exist, except as a statistical abstraction. The racial composition of the Fijian is complex and far from being homogeneous. There is no doubt, from the physical and cultural evidence, as well as the geographical location, that Fijians are related to both Melanesians and Polynesians. The second point is to give a precise indication of these affinities with Melanesia and Polynesia. A third concern of this analysis is the geographical variability within Fiji. This consists of a regional breakdown of the Fijian data into interior, eastern, coastal, and northwestern divisions, in order to demonstrate some of the local variation of the Melanesian-Polynesian ingredients and their possible meaning.
—In general size and appearance, the Fijian is tall and well proportioned. His body is fairly tall and well muscled, that is, predominately athletic in build. Obesity is relatively uncommon except in moderate degrees. This rather tall stature allies the Fijians more closely with the Polynesians. Shoulder, chest, and hip diameters also indicate that Fijians are generously endowed.
The Fijians who occupy the mountainous interior of the main island are less tall than the coastal and eastern people; they also have narrower shoulders, relatively deeper and narrower chests, whereas their arms and legs are somewhat shorter. The eastern Fijians are tallest of all subgroups.
—Most Fijians have either medium- or dark-brown skin on the exposed facial surfaces. The more protected body areas show higher frequencies of medium brown and light brown. The Fijians are definitely less dark than the Melanesians but are darker, on the whole, than the Polynesians.
The interior hill tribes are darker than the eastern and coastal groups. The lightest average skin shade occurs in the east.
—In several respects the hair is the most consistent endowment of the Fijians. In nearly all instances it is black, frizzly, and coarse. The only departure from this condition is an occasional instance of dark brown and a few instances of rufous shade. Curly hair is a more common exception in the east. The coastal and northwestern people are nearer to the interior condition of frizzly hair. All in all, the hair form is definitely Melanesian. Hair lengthconforms to the general Melanesian condition, that is, intermediate between short Negroid and long Caucasiod or Mongoloid.
Considerable beard and body hair is common to Fijians (pls. 8 and 9). Moderate to pronounced beard is shown by nearly three-quarters of the total series, and body hair is even more prevelant. General hairiness is also exhibited by the Solomon Islanders and the Tongans in the comparative data. The interior tribes of Fiji are more hairy than the other groups. This prevelence of body and face hair seems to conform to parts of Melanesia where it may be regarded as an Australoid element. Its presence in the Tongan data does not seem to be representative of other Polynesians, who are generally described as more glabrous.
—Moderate brachycephaly is the commonest head form of Fijians, although the total range is great. In this respect the Fijians resemble the broad-headed Tongans, and are quite distinct from the longer-headed Melanesians. The Fijian head, despite its general brachycephaly, is rather compressed in the temporal area and submedium in parietal elevation. The back of the cranium is characteristically flattened, a natural conformation as no deformation is practiced.
The interior mountain tribes of Fiji have narrower heads and lower cranial indices than do the coastal and eastern groups. The interior people also have lesser head heights and a higher breadth-height index.
—Moderate to strongly developed supraorbital ridges are a common Fijian endowment. Similarly are low and sloping foreheads. These features have been observed in western Melanesia, where, like hairiness, they suggest Australoid of archaic Caucasoid elements.
—Broadness characterizes the Fijian face. Bizygomatic breadth locates them nearer to the Polynesians than to the narrower-faced Melanesians. Strongly developed malars are common, and they tend to project laterally more than frontally. Widest faces appear among the eastern people.
Bigonial and bicanine widths show that generous breadth includes the lower parts of the face, a condition born out by strong gonial angles.
Face length falls between the long-faced Tongans and the definitely shorter-faced Melanesians (pls. 3 and 4).
Some prognathism is common among Fijians, both total and mid-facial, but the condition is not universal nor pronounced. The eastern Fijians are the least prognathic (pl. 10).
—Dark brown is the prevailing eye color, although many subjects have medium-brown eyes. Eye folds are only occasional and eye-opening height is usually moderate. Slight eye obliquity is common, more so in the eastern sample.
—Great variability marks the nasal area. The commonest condition is a broad and moderately long nose. Medium nasion depression is frequent; the root is wide and moderately elevated. Bridge breadth is often pronounced and the nasal profile is straight to convex. The nasal tip is characteristically thickened and nasal wings are usually flaring. On the whole, there is a great deal of Melanesian in the Fijian nose; it is Negroid, but not pronouncedly. Those aspects of the nose which may be termed Negroid are commoner in the interior hill people and the northwest and least evident in the east.
—Thick and moderately everted lips occur in nearly half the series. This Negroid combination is more manifest in the interior and least in the east. Integumental lips tend to be heavy.
—The condition of the teeth is generally excellent. Most Fijians have broad, roomy jaws that permit complete and uncrowded tooth development. Dental caries are very infrequent. A rather high incidence of edge-to-edge bite is interesting.
—The ears are usually moderate in length and tend to protrude. Ear lobes are commonly large and are more often attached or soldered than free.
On the whole the Fijians are predominately Melanesian but with numerous Polynesian affinities that vary with locality. The Melanesian qualities are in part Negroid or Negritoid and in part Australoid. The Negroid resemblances are best illustrated by frizzly black hair, broad noses with depressed nasion and flaring nostrils, thick lips, and dark pigmentation (pls. 11 and 12). Australoid elements are general hairiness, strong brow ridges, low, sloping foreheads, compressed parietal and temporal areas, and some prognathism (pl. 13). The presence of Australoid suggestions need not mean that they come from Australia, but that they form a part of the Melanesian make-up. This interpretation of the Melanesians as a hybrid people conforms with similar designations by such students as Birdsell[19]and Hooton.[20]Polynesian influence in Fiji is most clearly demonstrated by lighter pigmentation, tall and muscular body build, moderate brachycephaly, broad faces and jaws, high and fairly long noses and strong chins. I found much the same resemblances between Fijians and Polynesians as did Howells;[21]however, in my comparisons the Polynesian similarities are outweighed and outnumbered by a greater array of Melanesian characters. The essential Melanesian character of the Fijian population is further demonstrated by recent blood-analysis comparisons; the conclusions of Simmonset al., identify the Fijians as Melanesian.[22]
The Fijians who live in the interior of Viti Levu show the most frequent Melanesian traits (pls. 11 and 14). These people are shorter, have narrower shoulders and chests; their heads are narrower and lower vaulted; they have broader noses, thicker lips, are hairier, and have darker skins. This condition, occurring as it does in the mountainous interior, which may be regarded as a refuge area, supports the theory that the Melanesian is the earlier component in Fiji.
The eastern Fijians stand in considerable contrast to the interior tribes and are the most Polynesian in appearance (pl. 15). They have lighter skins, greater stature, and heavier musculature. Their heads are broader, as are their faces and jaws; their noses are larger, narrower, and higher bridged, and their chins are more pronounced.
The coastal sample might be called intermediate or a more even blend of Melanesian and Polynesian.
The northwestern people resemble the coastal tribes. This means they show fewer departures in either a Melanesian or Polynesian direction. This also means they do not tell us whether the legendary ancestors, who are supposed to have first landed in Fiji on the northwest coast of Viti Levu,[23]were Melanesian or Polynesian. These data may mean one of three things: (1) the Fijian tradition of a landing at this place eight or ten generations ago is groundless, (2) the immigration did take place but whatever racial traits predominated, whether Melanesian or Polynesian, have been homogenized and obscured by subsequent intermixture and by movements back and forth on Viti Levu, (3) the landing did occur but the ancestors were already a Melanesian-Polynesian blend when they arrived.