Drawing of a Chinese pole gun found in Java, 1421 CE. It weighed 2.252 kg, length of 357 mm, and caliber of 16 mm. The ignition pan is rectangular, 28 mm long and 3 mm wide. The ignition hole is 4 mm in diameter, formerly protected by a cover, which is now missing, only the hinge is still preserved.

Bedil tombak or bedil tumbak is a type of early firearm from the Indonesian archipelago. The weapon consists of a gun or small cannon mounted on a wooden pole, forming a type of weapon known as "pole gun" (stangenbüchse in German).[1]: 256 

Etymology

The word bedil is a term in the Malay and Javanese language meaning gun (any type of gun, from small pistol to large siege gun).[2] The word tombak or tumbak means spear, pike, or lance.[3]: 81 

History

Majapahit-era hand cannons from Mojokerto, East Java.

The introduction of gunpowder-based weapons in the Nusantara archipelago can be traced back to the Mongol invasion of Java (1293), where the Chinese-Mongol troops used cannon (炮—Pào) against the forces of Kediri in Daha.[4]: 1–2 [5][6]: 244–245 [7]: 220  Between the 14th–15th century, there are local sources mentioned about bedil (gun or gunpowder-based weapon), but since this is a broad term caution must be taken to identify what type of weapon used in a passage.[8][9] A small hand-gun dated from the year 1340 thought to be Chinese was found in Java, but the dating may have been wrong.[6]: 275 

Ma Huan (Zheng He's translator) visited Majapahit in 1413 and took notes about the local customs. His book, Yingya Shenlan, explained about Javanese marriage ceremony: when the husband was escorting his new wife to the marital home, various instruments were sounded, including gongs, drums, and huochong (fire-tube or hand cannon).[10][11]: 245  It is probable that the Javanese hand cannon is modeled after Chinese ones. A Chinese pole cannon from 1421 A.D. has been found in the island of Java bearing the name of Emperor Yongle (1403–1425).[11]: 245  The gun's ignition hole is protected from the rain by a cover connected with a hinge.[1]: 256 

Small Javanese hand cannon, age unknown.

Haiguo Guangji (海国广记) and Shuyu zhouzi lu (殊域周咨錄) recorded that Java is vast and densely populated, and their armored soldiers and hand cannons (火銃—huǒ chòng) dominated the Eastern Seas.[12]: 755 [13][14]

Duarte Barbosa recorded the abundance of gunpowder-based weapons in Java ca. 1514. The Javanese were deemed as expert gun casters and good artillerymen. The weapon made there include one-pounder cannons, long muskets, spingarde (arquebus), schioppi (hand cannon), Greek fire, guns (cannons), and other fire-works.[15]: 254 [16][6]: 224  In the 1511 siege of Malacca, the Malays were using cannons, matchlock guns, and "firing tubes".[17]: 146–147  The gunpowder weapons of Malacca were not made by the Malay people but were imported from Java.[18]: 3–4 [19]: 97–98 

Local babad (historical text) of the post-17th century occasionally mention bedil tombak.[20] In Lombok example of such babads were babad Lombok, babad Mengui, and babad Sakra.[21]: 93–96 [22]: 79, 83 [23] They are also mentioned in Sundanese and Balinese texts.[24]: 103 [25]: 128  During the Bali-Lombok war (ca. early 19th century–end of 19th century), a part of Karangasem troops were armed with bedil tombak.[23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Feldhaus, F. M. (1897). Eine Chinesische Stangenbüchse von 1421. In Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde volume 4. Getty Research Institute. Dresden: Verein für historische Waffenkunde.
  2. ↑ Kern, H. (January 1902). "Oorsprong van het Maleisch Woord Bedil". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 54: 311–312. doi:10.1163/22134379-90002058.
  3. ↑ Marsden, William (1812). A Dictionary of the Malayan Language. Cox and Baylis.
  4. ↑ Schlegel, Gustaaf (1902). "On the Invention and Use of Fire-Arms and Gunpowder in China, Prior to the Arrival of European". T'oung Pao. 3: 1–11.
  5. ↑ Lombard, Denys (1990). Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) Vol. 2. Paris: Editions de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. Page 178.
  6. 1 2 3 Partington, J. R. (1999). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5954-0.
  7. ↑ Reid, Anthony (1993). Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450-1680. Volume Two: Expansion and Crisis. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
  8. ↑ Nugroho, Irawan Djoko (2011). Majapahit Peradaban Maritim. Suluh Nuswantara Bakti. p. 317. ISBN 978-602-9346-00-8.
  9. ↑ "Teknologi Era Majapahit – Nusantara Review". www.nusantarareview.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  10. ↑ Mayers (1876). "Chinese explorations of the Indian Ocean during the fifteenth century". The China Review. IV: p. 178.
  11. 1 2 Manguin, Pierre-Yves (1976). "L'Artillerie legere nousantarienne: A propos de six canons conserves dans des collections portugaises" (PDF). Arts Asiatiques. 32: 233–268. doi:10.3406/arasi.1976.1103. S2CID 191565174.
  12. ↑ Hesheng, Zheng; Yijun, Zheng (1980). 郑和下西洋资料汇编 (A Compilation of Materials on Zheng He's Voyages to the West) Volume 2, Part 1. 齐鲁书社 (Qilu Publishing House). 《海国广记·爪哇制度》有文字,知星历。其国地广人稠,甲兵火铳为东洋诸番之雄。其俗尚气好斗,生子一岁,便以匕首佩之。刀极精巧,名日扒刺头,以金银象牙雕琢人鬼为靶。男子无老幼贫富皆佩,若有争置,即拔刀相刺,盖杀人当时拿获者抵死,逃三日而出,则不抵死矣。
  13. ↑ Congjian, Yan (1583). 殊域周咨錄 (Shuyu Zhouzilu) 第八卷真臘 (Volume 8 Chenla). p. 111. 其國地廣人稠，甲兵火銃，為東洋諸番之雄。其俗尚氣好鬥。
  14. ↑ Wenbin, Yan, ed. (2019). 南海文明圖譜：復原南海的歷史基因◆繁體中文版 (Map of South China Sea Civilization: Restoring the Historical Gene of the South China Sea. Traditional Chinese Version). Rúshì wénhuà. p. 70. ISBN 9789578784987. 《海國廣記》記載,爪哇「甲兵火銃為東洋諸蕃之冠」。
  15. ↑ Jones, John Winter (1863). The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508. Hakluyt Society.
  16. ↑ Stanley, Henry Edward John (1866). A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa. The Hakluyt Society. p. 198.
  17. ↑ Gibson-Hill, C. A. (July 1953). "Notes on the old Cannon found in Malaya, and known to be of Dutch origin". Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 26: 145–174 – via JSTOR.
  18. ↑ Charney, Michael (2012). Iberians and Southeast Asians at War: the Violent First Encounter at Melaka in 1511 and After. In Waffen Wissen Wandel: Anpassung und Lernen in transkulturellen Erstkonflikten. Hamburger Edition.
  19. ↑ Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan (2020). Senjata Api Alam Melayu. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
  20. ↑ Mintosih, Sri (1999). Pengkajian Nilai Budaya Naskah Babad Lombok jilid 1. Jakarta: Dirjen Kebudayaan Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.
  21. ↑ Suparman, Lalu Gde (1994). Babad Lombok (in Indonesian). Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. ISBN 978-979-459-395-0.
  22. ↑ Wiranom (raden.) (1814). Babad (sejarah) Lombok: Babad Mengui (in Indonesian).
  23. 1 2 Suparman, Lalu Gde (1994-01-01). Babad Sakra (in Indonesian). Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan. ISBN 978-979-459-392-9.
  24. ↑ Budisantoso, S.; Nusantara (Indonesia), Proyek Penelitian dan Pengkajian Kebudayaan (1990). Hikayat Umar Maya (in Indonesian). Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, Proyek Penelitian dan Pengkajian Kebudayaan Nusantara.
  25. ↑ Sukartha, Nyoman; Mayun, Ida Bagus; Rupa, I. Wayan; Purna, I. Made (1995). Kajian nilai budaya dalam Geguritan Aji Dharma (in Indonesian). Proyek Pengkajian dan Pembinaan Nilai-Nilai Budaya Pusat, Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.
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