Saturday, 14 May 2011

ILA-ORANGUN STAR

ILA ORANGUN


Ìlá Òràngún, (or Ila, or Ila-Orogun) is an ancient city in Osun State, Nigeria that was capital of an ancient city-state of the same name in the Igbomina area of Yorubaland in southwestern Nigeria. Ìlá Òràngún is the more populous sister-city (and sister-kingdom) of Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún located about 7.5 miles (12 km) to the northeast.
It is the headquarters of the Ila Local Government Area.
The people of Ila speak the distinctive dialect of the Yoruba language called Igbomina (or Ogbonna).
A common traditional profession of the indigenes of the town is palm-wine tapping. This profession is referenced in one of the most popular songs and common sayings about the town of Ila.
The proverb Ila 'o l'oogun, emu l'oogun Ila, means "Ila has no special medicine or magical preparations other than palm-wine".
A folk song also says Ila ni mi, ise mi o le/ti mo ba wa l'orun ope bi 'ofusia' ni i ri, which is translated into English as "I am a citizen of Ila, my profession is very easy; if I am on top of a palm tree, I feel like I am upstairs in a multi-storey building."
Ila-Orangun is the home of the Oyo (now Osun) State College of Education.