Natural dye-yielding plants of tribal Odisha

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	Casaelpinaceae	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	Casaelpinaceae	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.