_Sitting Height_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 75.1-100 87.0 3.5 3.9
Interior 154 75.1-94 84.4 9.4 11.0
East 120 81-100 88.5 3.5 3.9
Coast 210 80-99 87.7 3.2 3.6
N.W. 79 80-94 86.0 2.9 3.3
Fiji (Howells) 132 78-101 88.3 3.06 3.46
Solomons (Howells) 85 69-95 83.6 3.8 4.5
A total sitting height average of 87 cm. attests the generous general
body length. 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. Compared with the Solomon
Islands natives, the Fijians are much more elongated.
_Relative Sitting Height_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 45-58 50.4 1.5 3.0
Interior 154 46-56 49.8 1.4 2.8
East 120 48-54 51.0 1.3 2.5
Coast 210 46-56 50.5 1.4 2.8
N.W. 79 47-54 50.2 1.4 2.8
Fiji (Howells) 132 46-57 51.7 1.36 2.63
Solomons (Howells) 85 46-57 52.1 1.64 2.92
The relative sitting height ratio for all Fijians is 50.4 per cent. The
eastern average of 51 per cent indicates a little more legginess,
whereas the interior groups tend somewhat to longer trunks.
_Biacromial_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 28-47 39.7 8.2 6.2
Interior 154 29-43 39.0 6.2 4.7
East 120 35-45 39.9 6.1 4.0
Coast 210 28-45 39.7 7.6 4.9
N.W. 79 35-47 40.5 6.6 3.9
The Fijians are generally a broad-shouldered people. The inhabitants of
Ra and Ba have the highest average and the interior people are least
broad-shouldered.
_Relative Shoulder Breadth_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 18-27 22.3 1.3 5.8
Interior 154 19-25 22.9 1.0 3.9
East 120 20-26 23.0 1.0 3.9
Coast 210 18-26 22.9 1.0 4.4
N.W. 79 20-27 23.4 3.1 13.2
Relative to total stature, shoulder breadth averages 22.3 per cent. No
significant regional differences are indicated.
_Bi-Iliac_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 23-40 29.2 5.6 5.3
Interior 154 25-38 29.0 5.1 5.2
East 120 27-34 29.5 4.1 4.8
Coast 210 23-37 29.2 5.9 5.5
N.W. 79 26-32 29.3 4.6 5.0
The Fijians, as a whole, are fairly broad-hipped; this condition holds
with little variation in all the provinces.
_Shoulder-Hip_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 58-101 73.7 4.3 5.8
Interior 154 65-100 74.6 4.2 5.6
East 120 67-82 73.8 3.2 4.3
Coast 210 58-99 73.5 4.3 5.9
N.W. 79 62-86 72.8 5.9 8.1
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_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 24-39 28.6 6.4 5.7
Interior 154 25-33 28.6 3.3 4.7
East 120 26-39 29.4 7.2 5.8
Coast 210 25-37 28.7 7.8 6.2
N.W. 79 25-32 28.9 4.3 4.9
Broad chests are also characteristic in Fiji. The eastern men surpass
the Viti Levu males, and the interior groups have the narrowest chests,
but the regional variations are small.
_Chest Depth_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 184-308 22.9 5.5 7.0
Interior 154 195-263 22.4 3.2 5.8
East 120 189-295 22.5 4.9 6.6
Coast 210 184-300 21.7 5.7 7.2
N.W. 79 192-250 21.8 3.3 6.0
The chests of the Fijians are also fairly deep. The close similarity in
chest depth of the interior group and the eastern sample is rather
striking inasmuch as the former are nearly 4 cm. shorter in stature.
This would indicate that the interior group, for their size, are
relatively deep-chested.
_Thoracic_
No. Range Mean S.D. C.V.
Total sample 815 59-96 76.4 4.6 6.0
Interior 154 69-88 78.5 3.9 5.0
East 120 65-85 76.3 4.3 5.6
Coast 210 56-89 75.5 4.7 6.2
N.W. 79 65-85 75.7 4.4 5.8
The thoracic index shows that the Fijians are deep-chested relative to
thoracic breadth as well as in absolute values. Again the interior
people stand out for their deeper chests.