bedil tombak
{{short description|Early firearm from Malay archipelago}}
File:Chinese pole gun found in Java.png 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).{{Rp|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).{{Cite journal|last=Kern|first=H.|date=January 1902|title=Oorsprong van het Maleisch Woord Bedil|journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde|volume=54|pages=311–312|doi=10.1163/22134379-90002058|doi-access=free}} The word tombak or tumbak means spear, pike, or lance.{{Cite book|last=Marsden|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a91GAAAAcAAJ&q=spear&pg=PA401|title=A Dictionary of the Malayan Language|date=1812|publisher=Cox and Baylis|language=en}}{{Rp|81}}
History
File:Majapahit treasure a pair of Javanese hand cannons.png, 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.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.{{Rp|1–2}}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. p. 178.{{Rp|244-245}}Reid, Anthony (1993). Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450–1680. Volume Two: Expansion and Crisis. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.{{Rp|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.{{Cite book|last=Nugroho|first=Irawan Djoko|title=Majapahit Peradaban Maritim|publisher=Suluh Nuswantara Bakti|year=2011|isbn=978-602-9346-00-8|pages=317}}{{Cite web|title=Teknologi Era Majapahit – Nusantara Review|url=https://www.nusantarareview.com/teknologi-era-majapahit.html|website=www.nusantarareview.com|date=2 October 2018 |access-date=2020-05-11}} A small hand-gun dated from the year 1340 thought to be Chinese was found in Java, but the dating may have been wrong.{{Rp|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).Mayers (1876). "[https://hkjo.lib.hku.hk/archive/files/cada1c05f0deef101b0493372b268cfa.pdf Chinese explorations of the Indian Ocean during the fifteenth century]". The China Review. IV: p. 178.{{Cite journal|last=Manguin|first=Pierre-Yves|date=1976|title=L'Artillerie legere nousantarienne: A propos de six canons conserves dans des collections portugaises|url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02509117/file/arasi_0004-3958_1976_num_32_1_1103.pdf|journal=Arts Asiatiques|volume=32|pages=233–268|doi=10.3406/arasi.1976.1103|s2cid=191565174 }}{{Rp|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).{{Rp|245}} The gun's ignition hole is protected from the rain by a cover connected with a hinge.Feldhaus, F. M. (1897). [https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfurhi4190unse Eine Chinesische Stangenbüchse von 1421]. In Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde volume 4. Getty Research Institute. Dresden: Verein für historische Waffenkunde.{{Rp|256}}
File:Small Javanese Kingdom cannon 812233.png
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.{{Cite book |last1=Hesheng |first1=Zheng |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ao8GAQAAIAAJ&q=%E7%88%AA%E5%93%87%E9%8A%83 |title=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 |last2=Yijun |first2=Zheng |publisher=齐鲁书社 (Qilu Publishing House) |year=1980 |quote=《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.}}{{Rp|755}}{{Cite book |last=Congjian |first=Yan |url=https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=202042 |title=殊域周咨錄 (Shuyu Zhouzilu) 第八卷真臘 (Volume 8 Chenla) |year=1583 |pages=111 |quote=其國地廣人稠, 甲兵火銃, 為東洋諸番之雄.其俗尚氣好鬥.}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIG9DwAAQBAJ&dq=%E7%88%AA%E5%93%87%E9%8A%83&pg=PT79 |title=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) |publisher=Rúshì wénhuà |year=2019 |isbn=9789578784987 |editor-last=Wenbin |editor-first=Yan |page=70 |quote=《海國廣記》記載,爪哇「甲兵火銃為東洋諸蕃之冠」.}}
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.{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=John Winter|url=https://archive.org/details/travelsofludovic00vartrich/page/254/mode/2up?q=|title=The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508|publisher=Hakluyt Society|year=1863}}{{Rp|254}}{{Cite book|last=Stanley|first=Henry Edward John|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcoa00barbrich/page/198/mode/2up|title=A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa|publisher=The Hakluyt Society|year=1866|pages=198}}{{Cite book|last=Partington|first=J. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNZBSqd2cToC&q=java&pg=PA224|title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder|date=1999|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5954-0|language=en}}{{Rp|224}} In the 1511 siege of Malacca, the Malays were using cannons, matchlock guns, and "firing tubes".{{Cite journal|last=Gibson-Hill|first=C. A.|date=July 1953|title=Notes on the old Cannon found in Malaya, and known to be of Dutch origin|journal=Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=26|pages=145–174 [146–147]}} The gunpowder weapons of Malacca were not made by the Malay people but were imported from Java.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.{{Rp|3–4}}{{Cite book|last=Hasbullah|first=Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan|date=2020|title=Senjata Api Alam Melayu|publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka|pages=}}{{rp|97–98}}
Local babad (historical text) of the post-17th century occasionally mention bedil tombak.{{Cite book|last=Mintosih|first=Sri|title=Pengkajian Nilai Budaya Naskah Babad Lombok jilid 1|publisher=Dirjen Kebudayaan Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan|year=1999|location=Jakarta}} In Lombok example of such babads were babad Lombok, babad Mengui, and babad Sakra.{{Cite book|last=Suparman|first=Lalu Gde|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Z9kAAAAMAAJ&q=bedil+tombak|title=Babad Lombok|date=1994|publisher=Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan|isbn=978-979-459-395-0|pages=93–96}}{{Cite book|last=Wiranom (raden.)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HgtCAQAAMAAJ&q=Bedil+tumbak&pg=PP171|title=Babad (sejarah) Lombok: Babad Mengui|date=1814|language=id}}{{Rp|79, 83}}{{Cite book|last=Suparman|first=Lalu Gde|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkGeCgAAQBAJ&q=bedil+tombak&pg=PA132|title=Babad Sakra|date=1991|publisher=Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan|isbn=978-979-459-392-9|language=id}} They are also mentioned in Sundanese and Balinese texts.{{Cite book|last1=Budisantoso|first1=S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIIcAAAAIAAJ&q=bedil+tombak|title=Hikayat Umar Maya|last2=Nusantara (Indonesia)|first2=Proyek Penelitian dan Pengkajian Kebudayaan|date=1990|publisher=Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, Proyek Penelitian dan Pengkajian Kebudayaan Nusantara|language=id}}{{Rp|103}}{{Cite book|last1=Sukartha|first1=Nyoman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oslkAAAAMAAJ&q=bedil+tombak|title=Kajian nilai budaya dalam Geguritan Aji Dharma|last2=Mayun|first2=Ida Bagus|last3=Rupa|first3=I. Wayan|last4=Purna|first4=I. Made|date=1995|publisher=Proyek Pengkajian dan Pembinaan Nilai-Nilai Budaya Pusat, Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan|language=id}}{{Rp|128}} During the Bali-Lombok war (ca. early 19th century–end of 19th century), a part of Karangasem troops were armed with bedil tombak.
Gallery
File:Indonesian bronze handcannon.jpg|Bronze bedil tombak, age and specific place unknown.
File:Javanese Handcannon from Majalengka.jpg|Javan iron bedil tombak from Majalengka, West Java, age unknown.
File:Gun Barrels Talaga Manggung Museum.png|Bedil tombak and swivel guns at Talaga Manggung Museum, West Java.
File:Bedil kuno atau meriam kuno Jawa cetbang.png|A bedil (or cetbang), recovered from the Brantas River, Jombang, East Java.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Indonesian Weapons}}
{{Early firearms}}
Category:Firearms of Indonesia
Category:15th-century military history