Plant Lovers' Association, Bhubaneswar
Sabujima, 23: 23-25
Natural dye-yielding plants of tribal Odisha
Sanjeet
Kumar and Padan Kumar Jena
Department of Botany, Ravenshaw
University, Cuttack-753003, Odisha
sanjeet.biotech@gmail.com
Color
is of paramount importance in nature that makes human living more aesthetic and
fascinating. It is supposed to be associated with seasons, festivals, human
emotions, qualities and passion of life. A dye gives a color. A dye can
generally be described as a coloured substance that has an affinity to the
substrate to which it is applied. A dye, which is resistance to light, water
and soap. There are two types of dye, natural and synthetics. Natural dyes are dyes or colorants
derived from plants, animals, minerals or
other natural resources whereas synthetic dyes are synthesised from different
chemicals. The majority of natural dyes are obtained from plant parts, such as leaves, flowers, rhizomes,
tubers, fruits, bark and seeds.
The art of dyeing is as old as human civilization. From the historical
records, it is learnt that natural colorants were available to people during
Greco-Roman periods and Neolithic periods. Dyeing
with plant parts has been traced back to more than 5,000 years in China. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs contain detail description of the
extraction of natural dyes and their application in dyeing. Dyes such as Cochineal and Logwood were brought to
Europe by the Spanish treasure fleets, and the dyestuffs of Europe were carried
by colonists to America (Barber, 1991). An
anonymous researcher has reported that an orange or yellow impermanent dye is
made from flowers of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis used for making Buddhist
robes in Sri Lanka. The use of natural dyeing
materials is evident with the wall paintings of Ajanta, Ellora and Sithannvasal
in India. They still demonstrate the efficacy of dyeing craft that had been
inherited from ancient times. The knowledge of dyeing
was also known to people of Indus Valley Civilisation. This has been
substantiated by the findings of coloured garments and traces of madder (Rubia cordifolia) dye in the ruins of
the Indus Valley Civilisation at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Traditionally ‘Holi’ was also played with
flower petals or with natural colors obtained from different plant parts. Simili
and Palasha were widely used for this purpose.
Although dye might have discovered accidentally,
but the art of dyeing spread widely as civilisation advanced and today, dyeing has
become a complex and specialized science. The increasing market demand for dyes
and the dwindling numbers of dye yielding plants forced the emergence of
synthetic dyes like aniline, rhodamine, mayhem’s dye etc., which have threatened
the total replacement of natural dyes. However, even today, efforts are being
made to derive dyes from natural resources. Dye for eye shadows is obtained
from Indigo, while a dye for lipstick is still obtained from seed of annato.
Yellow dye from turmeric, not only is a dye but a powerful antiseptic that
revitalizes the skin. Indigo dye yields a cooling sensation like sandal wood in
addition to its colouring effect. Synthetic dyes are suspected to release
harmful chemicals that are allergic, carcinogenic and detrimental to human health.
Therefore, there is a need for screening and documentation of plant species having
dyeing properties. Literature survey has
shown that studies are continuously being made to identify dye yielding plants
and dyes derived from them throughout the globe. However dye yielding plants
have not been properly documented in Odisha. Hence,
a study was made to document such plants that are used to yield dye by the
tribal communities of Odisha.
Our state Odisha is situated between 17° 49´ to
22° 34´ North latitude and 81° 28´ to 87° 29´ East longitude. The state of West
Bengal lies towards its North-East, Jharkhand towards North, Chhattisgarh
towards West, Andhra Pradesh towards South and the Bay of Bengal towards East.
It has an area of 155707 sq. Kms., which comprises 4.74 % of country’s land mass.
Physio-graphically, Odisha is not
homogeneous due to its mountainous terrain, major rivers and their tributaries.
It has limited area of lower elevation while about three-fourth of its land
surface is hilly and mountainous. State claims to have a prominent position
among the states and Union Territories of the country for having the largest
ethnic groups (62) including 13 vulnerable tribal communities. It is having the
third highest tribal population numbering to about 8 millions, which is about
9.7 % of the country’s total population and 22.13 % of the state’s total
population.
Each ethnic tribe possesses its distinct identity
as to their language, culture, festival, rituals, religion, socio-cultural
features, demographic characteristics and their dependence on natural
resources. They collect the leaves, fruits, flowers, roots, tubers, nuts, bark
and whole plants for their day to day use. For painting and dyeing, they use the many plant
parts. Our knowledge on dyeing with natural resources in mainly based on the
tribal use of natural dye. They have unique skill to isolate the crude dye from
floral wealth. At times they use dye for colouring their food too. Many of
these dyes used by them are eco-friendly and non-toxic. Present study deals
with, 43 plant species belonging to 27 families and 41 genus used as natural
dye by the tribal of Odisha. Among the
documented plants, flowers are more frequently used to make dye followed by
bark and fruits and the whole plant in least used as source of dye (Fig-1; Table-1).
Table: Most common Dye yielding plants of Odisha
Plant Name
|
Local name
|
Family
|
Parts used
|
Colour
obtained
|
Abrus
precatorius
|
Kāincho
|
Fabaceae
|
Seeds
|
Black
|
Acacia
catechu
|
Khairo
|
Mimosaceae
|
Bark
|
Pink
|
Acacia
nilotica
|
Babul
|
Mimosaceae
|
Gum
|
Black
|
Aegle
marmelos
|
Bela
|
Rutaceae
|
Fruits
|
Yellow
|
Barleria
prionitis
|
Kanta Jati
|
Acanthaceae
|
Flowers
|
Yellow
|
Basella
alba
|
Poi
|
Basellaceae
|
Fruits
|
Blue
|
Bauhinia
purpurea
|
Kuilari
|
|
Bark
|
Violet
|
Bixa
orellana
|
Sundry
|
Bixaceae
|
Seeds
|
Red/ Orange red
|
Bombax
ceiba
|
Similli
|
Bombacaceae
|
Flowers
|
Red
|
Butea
monosperma
|
Palasa
|
Fabaceae
|
Flower
|
Yellow / Orange
|
Butea
superba
|
Lata Palasa
|
Fabaceae
|
Flower
|
Deep yellow
|
Cassia
fistula
|
Sunari
|
|
Bark
|
Brown
|
Cassytha
filiformis
|
Nirmuli
|
Lauraceae
|
Stem
|
Brown
|
Catharanthus
roseus
|
Sadabihari
|
Apocynaceae
|
Flowers
|
Pink / Red
|
Clitoria
ternatea
|
Aprajita
|
Fabaceae
|
Flower
|
Blue
|
Curcuma
longa
|
Haldi
|
Zingiberaceae
|
Rhizomes
|
Yellow
|
Dioscorea
bulbifera
|
Pita Aalu
|
Dioscoreaceae
|
Tuber
|
Pale yellow
|
Enhydra
fluctuans
|
Hidmichia
|
Asteraceae
|
Leaves
|
Green
|
Erythrina
suberosa
|
Paldhua
|
Fabaceae
|
Flowers
|
Pink/ Orange
|
Indigofera
tinctoria
|
Nilli
|
Fabaceae
|
Flowers
|
Indigo / Blue
|
Lannea
coromandelica
|
Jia
|
Anacardiaceae
|
Bark
|
Red
|
Lawsonia
inermis
|
Manjuati
|
Lythraceae
|
Leaves
|
Deep red / Orange
|
Madhuca
longifolia
|
Mahula
|
Sapotaceae
|
Flowers
|
Red
|
Mallotus
philippensis
|
Basanto Gundi
|
Euphorbiaceae
|
Fruits
|
Red
|
Melastoma
malabathricum
|
Karati
|
Melastomataceae
|
Fruits
|
Purple
|
Michelia
champaca
|
Champa
|
Magnoliaceae
|
Flower
|
Yellow
|
Mirabilis
jalapa
|
Rangani
|
Nyctaginaceae
|
Flowers
|
Pinkish red
|
Nyctanthes
arbor-tristis
|
Gangasuali
|
Oleaceae
|
Flower
|
Orange
|
Nymphaea
pubescens
|
Nalikain
|
Nymphaeaceae
|
Rhizome
|
Blue
|
Oldenlandia
umbellata
|
Subulli
|
Rubiaceae
|
Root
|
Red
|
Pithecellobium
dulce
|
Sima Kaian
|
Mimosaceae
|
Bark
|
Pink
|
Polygonum
hydropiper
|
Bihagani
|
Polygonaceae
|
Leaves
|
Blue
|
Pterocarpus
marsupium
|
Piasal
|
Fabaceae
|
Bark
|
Red
|
Pterocarpus
santalinus
|
Rakta Chandan
|
Fabaceae
|
Bark
|
Red
|
Punica granatum
|
Dalimba
|
Lythraceae
|
Fruits
|
Yellow
|
Rubia
cordifolia
|
Rango Chero
|
Rubiaceae
|
Whole plant
|
Deep red
|
Semecarpus
anacardium
|
Bhalia
|
Anacradiaceae
|
Fruits
|
Black
|
Syzygium
cumini
|
Jamu
|
Myrtaceae
|
Fruits
|
Blue
|
Tagetes
erecta
|
Gendu
|
Asteraceae
|
Flowers
|
Yellow
|
Tagetes
patula
|
Gendu
|
Asteraceae
|
Flowers
|
Reddish yellow
|
Tectona
grandis
|
Tiko
|
Verbenaceae
|
Leaves
|
Brick red
|
Terminalia
chebula
|
Harida
|
Combrataceae
|
Bark
|
Blackish brown
|
Woodfordia
fruticosa
|
Dhataki
|
Lythraceae
|
Flowers
|
Red
|
The study indicates that Odisha is endowed with wealth of natural
flora that provides the basic resources for rainbow of natural dyes. Natural
dyes are less toxic, non-carcinogenic and less polluting in comparison to
synthetic dyes. People of the state are in habit of using synthetic dyes to
carter their need as they are easily available in the market on festive
occasions either to color the mother earth or to color the statue of God &
Goddess, we use synthetic dyes. After the emersion of these statues in the
river or in other water bodies, the water gets polluted. This creates a major
pollution problem after the festive occasions are over. The easiest solution to
such problems is to use dyes derived from natural sources that are non-toxic
and non-polluting.
Although tribal Odisha have enough resource of
dye yielding plants, but very less of them have been exploited. Due to lack of
technical knowledge, coupled with reluctance of young generations towards this
tedious task has ultimately resulted in ignorance of these natural wealth.
Detail studies and scientific investigations are needed to assess the real
potential and availability of natural dye yielding resources in tribal Odisha. As
lack of awareness and conservation strategy might lead to depletion of many of these
natural resources. It is the right time to document these natural treasures and
work on them for their sustainability. Such study will not only help in
conservation of phyto-resources of the state but also will add to the
progressive development of tribal knowledge available in the state.
