A study to demonstrate the traditional value of dye plants collected from Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh, India

The current study was conducted to exploit the traditional knowledge of major dye plants used by the people inhabiting the Hamirpur District of Himachal Pradesh. They prepare these dyes by themselves; which played an important role in their cultural, religious and social life. For example Curcuma longa (Haldi) and Oryza sativa are widely used as a dye in various traditions and rituals performed by native people. Flowers of Butea monosperma (Paplah) are also used in religious holi festival and Impatiens balsamina (Teur) are seasonally utilized by local girls to color their palms. Fruits of Mallotus philippensis (Kaamal) are used to extract the sindoor (vermillion) by married women. Hence, these dyes uphold the great impact on conventional culture in the life people of Hamirpur district. Moreover, these dyes are very harmonious to the human health as well as to environment due to their nontoxic properties. Unfortunately the traditional and cultural knowledge about these dyes by people from one generation to other generation goes undocumented and highly prone to extinction due to our negligence. Hence the objective of the present study is to document the traditional knowledge about these natural plant products as they provides as an alternatives to synthetics dyes as they are human/environment friendly and cost effective.