The People

The Mangaians are brown-skinned Polynesians. The anthropometrical measurements of 200 males and 100 females show them to be of medium page 6stature; the average is below that of the neighboring Rarotongans. The men are good workers and much in demand for labor.

The population in 1823 was estimated by Williams (27) as between 2,000 and 3,000. The government census in 1926 gave a total of 1,241, consisting of 636 males and 605 females. Previous census reports show that the population has decreased steadily since 1823 and reached its lowest number (1,230) in 1921. The village of Titikaveka in Rarotonga contains a large proportion of Mangaians. Some of the decrease was due to emigration to Rarotonga in search of employment. The decrease from introduced and endemic diseases was severe, though the missionaries did their best with the remedies they had. The Health Service at Rarotonga, which now makes occasional visits to Mangaia, has done much to check the excessive mortality through campaigns directed against venereal disease, hookworm, and yaws. Mrs. McGruther, a trained nurse, attends regularly to all sickness and has a well-equipped dispensary.