Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, Yunnan, China.
Key Laboratory of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming, 650201, China.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2018 Nov 29;14(1):74. doi: 10.1186/s13002-018-0274-z.
Bai people in the Dali Prefecture of Northwest Yunnan, China, have a long history of using plant extracts to dye their traditional costumes and maintain this culture for posterity. However, the development of modern technology, while vastly improving the dyeing efficiency, is also replacing indigenous knowledge which threatens the indigenous practice, causing the latter disappearing gradually. This study sought to examine the indigenous knowledge of plants used for textile dyeing in Bai communities, so as to provide a foundation for their sustainable development.
We conducted a semi-structured interview among 344 informants (above age 36) selected through a snowball sampling method. Free lists and participant observation were used as supplementary methods for the interviews. Three quantitative indicators (informant consensus factor [ICF], use frequency, and cultural importance index [CI]) were used to evaluate the indigenous knowledge of the dye-yielding plants.
Twenty-three species belonging to 19 plant taxonomic families were used for dye by Bai communities. We summarized them into four life forms, eight used parts, five colors, three processing methods, and four dyeing methods. Among them, Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) O. Kuntze was the most traditional dyeing plant and has an important cultural value. Location, age, and gender were found to have a significant effect on indigenous knowledge, and the dyeing knowledge was dynamic and influenced by social factors.
Diverse plant resources and rich indigenous knowledge of textile dyeing persist at settlements of Bai communities in Dali Prefecture. However, high labor costs and thinning market of traditional products that use plant dye cause repulsion toward traditional practice. To that, a good income in other profession attracts indigenous people to shift from their tradition of making plant-based dye and associated cultural systems at risk of extinction. More research for market development for products that use plant-based dye is necessary for the conservation of this valuable knowledge and biodiversity protection in Bai communities.
中国滇西北大理地区的白族人民有着悠久的使用植物提取物为传统服饰染色的历史，并将这一文化传承至今。然而，现代技术的发展虽然极大地提高了染色效率，但也在取代本土知识，这威胁到了本土实践，导致后者逐渐消失。本研究旨在探讨白族社区用于纺织品染色的植物本土知识，为其可持续发展提供基础。
我们通过雪球抽样法选择了 344 名（年龄在 36 岁以上）受访者进行半结构访谈。自由列表和参与式观察作为访谈的补充方法。我们使用三个定量指标（信息共识因子[ICF]、使用频率和文化重要性指数[CI]）来评估产生染料的植物的本土知识。
白族社区使用了 23 种植物，属于 19 个植物分类科。我们将它们总结为四种生活形态、八种使用部位、五种颜色、三种加工方法和四种染色方法。其中，星宿菜（Nees）O. Kuntze 是最传统的染色植物，具有重要的文化价值。位置、年龄和性别对白族社区的本土知识有显著影响，而且染色知识是动态的，受到社会因素的影响。
大理地区白族社区的定居点仍然存在着丰富的植物资源和丰富的纺织品染色本土知识。然而，植物染料传统产品的高劳动力成本和日益萎缩的市场导致人们对传统实践产生反感。此外，其他行业的良好收入也吸引了当地人放弃传统的植物染料制作和相关文化系统，这使得这些本土知识和生物多样性面临灭绝的风险。为了保护这种有价值的知识和生物多样性，有必要对白族社区的植物染料产品进行市场开发研究。
