Norman E. Gabel

“ A present threat to Fijian population, in the opinion of many, stems not from disease but from the Indian presence. This began in the latter part of the nineteenth century when Indian immigration of indentured laborers began. The influx went on until 1916 by which time some 40,000 to 50,000 Indians had come to Fiji and very few had returned to India. Since then, the Indians have increased more rapidly than the Fijians until they now outnumber them. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The Fijian data in Howell's paper make it possible for me to check some of my own Fijian material, and the Solomon Island data in the same report provide a Melanesian measuring stick.
Since an over-all description of the Fijians is the initial concern of this paper, each physical trait measured or derived from measurement is tabulated according to range, average, and deviation. Traits observed but not measured are presented according to degree of development, e.g., absent, medium, and pronounced, and according to percentage of occurrence. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The anatomical distribution of body hair deserves some comment, even though specific observations were made on the chest. Not infrequently the hair is heavier on the upper legs than on the chest. Occasionally, too, the back of the shoulders is quite hairy as well as the belly. ”

“ The climate is generally pleasant and healthful. Tropical extremes of heat and humidity are moderated by the prevailing trades, which usually supply cool and pleasant breezes from the east. Still, days of uncomfortable heat and oppressive humidity are not unknown; however, such periods are protracted only in the interior. The climate is far from uniform throughout the islands. The windward sides, where rainfall often exceeds a hundred inches, have a more even temperature and sunshine is more moderate. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The Fijians, as a whole, are fairly broad-hipped; this condition holds with little variation in all the provinces.
Shoulder-Hip
The total shoulder-hip ratio describes the shoulders as 73.7 per cent as wide as the hips. These ratios do not vary greatly in different parts of Fiji. The somewhat higher index of the hill groups is owing largely to their narrower shoulders, whereas the superior shoulder breadth of the northwest provinces contributes mostly to the lower hip-shoulder index.
Chest Breadth
Broad chests are also characteristic in Fiji. ”

“ 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 narrower heads of the interior people largely account for their higher index; otherwise there is general similarity in the several provinces.
Zygo-Frontal
The ratio of forehead width to face breadth is 75.5. All of the regional averages for the zygo-frontal index are strikingly alike among the Fijians in every instance; the forehead is about three-quarters the breadth of the face. The Tongan ratio is a little lower.
Total Face Height
Fijian faces have the moderate average height of 122.5 mm. ”

“ This preponderance of coarse hair is much the same in all the provinces, although the eastern people do depart slightly with a 3 per cent incidence of medium-coarse hair.
It might be added that Fijian hair is quite stiff or wiry. For example, when the hair is unshorn, it stands out like a mop. A Fijian can insert a long stemmed flower in his hair and it will stay in place with no additional fastening.
Head Hair Quantity
Head hair quantity is pronounced in the majority of Fijians (65 per cent) ; it is moderate in 27 per cent and submedium in 7 per cent. ”

“ 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) .
Eyes.
—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. ”

“ A regional trend follows the same curve as that for stature. The eastern body length is greatest; it exceeds the over-all average by 1-1/2 cm. and is more than 4 cm. larger than the interior people who fall at the bottom of the scale of sitting height. Howells' Fijian series is close to my eastern average. ”

“ However, his data includes many individuals who have no beards at all. Both series are doubtless influenced by the fact that they contain a preponderance of young adult; a greater proportion of older men would have greatly raised the incidence of the pronounced categories.
Nearly all modern Fijians have adopted the Western practice of shaving. Examination of earlier pictures and written description of Fijians leaves no doubt that the majority of mature men possess luxurious beards when nature is unrestrained. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Broad faces are the rule among most of these people, as the total average of 145.7 mm. shows. Regional values for this criterion are closely alike in all parts of Fiji, the eastern showing a slight superiority in bizygomatic breadth.
Howells' Fiji series is slightly lower in this diameter as is the Tongan average. The Solomon Islands natives have definitely narrower faces.
Cephalo-Facial
Face breadth relative to head width averages 93.5 per cent for all Fijians ”

“ A number of native plants are very vital to the Fijian livelihood and some have modern economic importance. Several timber trees are essential to house building, canoe construction, and wood carving. The ubiquitous palms, here as elsewhere in the Pacific, are vital sources of food, drink, building, and weaving materials and cordage. The mangrove provides firewood, house poles, fishing fences, and traps, laths for bows and black dye for their hair and tapa. ”

“ The total land area of the islands is about the equivalent of the state of Delaware, somewhat over 7,000 square miles. Two great islands account for nearly 95 per cent of the total area: Viti Levu, the largest, is over 4,000 square miles, and Vanua Levu, about half as large. Over 90 per cent of the native population lives on these two islands although nearly a hundred other islands are inhabited. ”

“ Particularly in early historic times, when the advent of firearms and other Western culture greatly stimulated intergroup warfare and cannibalism, there was much moving about from one region to another. ”

“ Various reeds, canes, and bamboos and lianas are useful to Fiji economy. In the drier areas reeds and grasses provide material for house walls, thatch, fish fences, and arrow shafts. Several kinds of trees yield edible nuts and fruits. ”

“ Regionally, the only significant variation in this trait is shown in the east, where more individuals have a submedium designation. In the absence of age data, this contrast cannot be fairly interpreted.
Hair Length
It might be observed here that although hair length was not included in this survey, on the basis of personal but unrecorded observation, the Fijians conform to the Melanesian pattern. Most Fijian men now cut their hair short in the Western style, but some still do not. Women generally trim their hair but not short. ”

“ Bird life is diverse and interesting, although in a number of places introduced forms, like mynahs and turtle doves, have forced the native varieties back into the jungle. Several game birds such as doves, pigeons, and ducks are occasionally hunted. ”

“ 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.
[Pg 25]
CONCLUSIONS
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) . ”

“ A small gray rat is a considerable pest in garden and homes, and a large nocturnal bat, which is called a flying fox, lives in tree colonies and is often seen at dusk in banana groves or other feeding places. ”

“ The introduction of firearms changed the native political scene and increased the scope and destructiveness of warfare. For a time the rulers of Mbau in eastern Viti nearly monopolized the supply of muskets and white men. ”

“ Slightly shorter faces occur in the interior people, whereas the greatest total face height average occurs in the east. The Fijian of Howells' series is close to mine. The Tongan value for face height describes them as definitely longer faced. ”

“ Moderately high mountains give to the larger islands a generally rugged terrain. The more extensive ranges lie across the path of the prevailing south and easterly winds producing windward and leeward climatic areas. ”

“ They make up a dense cover of evergreen trees interwoven with wild creepers and vines. Thick stands of shrubs and smaller trees add to the tropical profusion. Above 2,000 feet the forests thin out and become more heavily coated with moss and lichens, and ferns and orchids attach themselves to the branches. ”

“ On the windward side rainfall is heavy and rather evenly distributed over the year. Here the valleys and mountain slopes support a typical dense tropical growth. The leeward side, however, receives much less moisture and has wet and dry seasons. Scattered patches of trees and grasses cover the ground, whereas heavy stands of forest are confined to valley bottoms and higher mountain slopes. The mountainous interior of Viti Levu contains a number of peaks over 3,000 feet, the highest of which is Mt. ”