Bilo, formerly spelled Billo and Billò, is a town in central

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It is located in the

East Welega Zone East Welega () is one of the zones in the central Oromia Region of Ethiopia. This administrative division acquired its name from the former province of Welega. Towns and cities in this zone include Nekemte. East Welega is bounded on the southwe ...

of the

Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

at an elevation of above sea level. Bilo is the administrative center of Wama Bonaya

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

and was sometimes also known as Bila and Falle.

Overview

Local landmarks in Bilo include the Medhane Alem church. The Russian explorer

Alexander Bulatovich Alexander Ksaverievich Bulatovich (; 26 September 1870 – 5 December 1919) tonsured Hieroschemamonk Anthony () was a Russian military officer, explorer of Africa, writer, hieromonk and the leader of the imiaslavie movement in Eastern Orthodox C ...

visited Bilo 8 November 1896. At the time, it was a crossroads for caravans travelling between south-western Ethiopia and

Gojjam Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical provincial kingdom in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Markos. During the 18th century, G ...

on their way to the traditional Ethiopian port of

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

. Although it was in the territory of ''

Dejazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper ...

'' Demissew Nassibu, it was not part of it; instead it was under the rule of a '' nagadras'' or governor of its marketplace. Bulatovich noted that the settlement had fewer than 300 permanent residents and, in light of the colonial developments along the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

coast, most of south Ethiopia's trade had shifted to the routes through

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

to the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

port at

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-held port at

Zayla Zeila (, ), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila with the Biblical location of Havilah. Most modern schola ...

. The opening of the Franco-Ethiopian Railway at

Dire Dawa Dire Dawa (; , meaning"where the Dir (clan), Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", , Harari language, Harari: ድሬዳዋ, lit. "Plain of Medicine"; ) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Somali Region and Oromia, Oromo borde ...

in 1901 drove still more of the trade along these routes at the expense of Bilo and nearby Leika. Dunlop mentions Bilo in his memoirs of travelling through western Ethiopia with Captain R.H.R. Taylor in 1935, as where they watched women spin thread and a man weave cloth to be sold at

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

. Dunlop describes Bilo as a "village of some size" east of the Dodu pass between Mount Konchi and Mount Sodu

Demographics

Based on figures from the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

in 2005, Bilo has an estimated total population of 2,401 of whom 1,108 are men and 1,293 are women.CSA 2005 National Statistics
, Table B.4 The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 1,346 of whom 601 were men and 745 women.

References

Populated places in the Oromia {{Oromia-geo-stub