TheLantaka (Baybayin: pre virama:ᜎᜆᜃ: post virama:ᜎᜈ᜔ᜆᜃ) also known asrentaka (inMalay,jawi script: رنتاک) was a type ofbronze portablecannon orswivel gun, sometimes mounted onmerchant vessels and warships inMaritime Southeast Asia.[1] It was commonly equipped by native seafaring vessels from thePhilippines,Indonesia,Brunei, andMalaysia.[2]Lela and rentaka are known by theMalays asmeriam kecil (lit. "small cannon"),[3][4] the difference is that rentaka is smaller in length and bore than a lela.[5]: 122–123 and Lantakas are often calledKanyon in Filipino (literal meaning cannon).
Thelantaka was cited by theNational Commission for Culture and the Arts of thePhilippines as an intangible cultural heritage of the country under the 'Traditional Craftsmanship' category that the government may nominate in theUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. The documentation of the craft was aided by ICHCAP ofUNESCO.[6]
The name may stem from theMalay wordlantak, which means "hammering down" or "ramming down",[7]: 123 referencing its loading process (muzzle-loading).Ramrod in Malay is calledpelantak.[8]: 613 The Malay wordrentak means "stamping the feet in anger",[8]: 340 [7]: 182 "pounding the feet together".[9]
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The lantaka is the "younger sibling" of the lela; they are smaller, with a length of less than 100 cm.[5]: 122–123 Typically, the bore diameters of these cannons were in the range of about 10–50 mm.[3] Many of these guns were mounted onswivels (calledcagak in Malay)[3] and were known asswivel guns. The smaller ones could be mounted almost anywhere including in therigging. Medium-sized cannons were frequently used in reinforced sockets on the vessel's rails and were sometimes referred to as rail guns. The heaviest swivel guns were mounted on modifiedgun carriages to make them more portable.[citation needed]
The origin ofgunpowder-based weaponry in theNusantara archipelago can be traced from the late 13th century. TheMongol invasion of Java brought gunpowder technology toJava in the form of a cannon (Chinese:炮—"Pào").[10]: 1–2 [11][12]: 220 This resulted in eastern-stylecetbang which is similar to Chinese cannon. Swivel guns, however only developed in the archipelago because of the close maritime relations of the Nusantara archipelago with the territory of west India after 1460 CE, which brought new types of gunpowder weapons to the archipelago, likely through Arab intermediaries. This weapon seems to be cannon and gun of Ottoman tradition, for example theprangi, which is a breech-loading swivel gun. A new type of cetbang, called the western-style cetbang, was derived from the Turkish prangi. Just like prangi, this cetbang is a breech-loading swivel gun made of bronze or iron, firing single rounds or scatter shots (a large number of small bullets).[13]: 94–95
When thePortuguese first came to the Malacca Sultanate, they found a large colony of Javanese merchants under their own headmen; they were manufacturing their own cannon, which is deemed as important as sails in a ship.[14]
Most lantakas were made of bronze and the earliest ones werebreechloaders.[15] Michael Charney (2004) pointed out that early Malay swivel guns were breech-loaded.[16]: 50 There is a trend toward muzzle-loading weapons during colonial times.[17] Nevertheless, whenMalacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511, both breech-loading and muzzle-loading swivel guns were found and captured by the Portuguese.[16]: 50
De Barros mentions that with the fall of the Malacca Sultanate, Albuquerque captured 3000 out of 8000 artillery. Among those, 2000 were made from brass and the rest from iron, in the style of Portugueseberço (breech-loading swivel gun). All of the artillery had its proper complement of carriages which could not be rivaled even by Portugal.[18][19]: 22, 247 [20]: 127–128 Afonso de Albuquerque compared Malaccan gun founders as being on the same level as those of Germany. However, he did not state what ethnicity the Malaccan gun founder was.[20]: 128 [12]: 221 [21]: 4 Duarte Barbosa stated that the arquebus-maker of Malacca wasJavanese.[22]: 69 The Javanese also manufactured their own cannon in Malacca.[14] Anthony Reid argued that the Javanese handled much of the productive work in Malacca before 1511 and in 17th century Pattani.[22]: 69
Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan Hasbullah explained several facts about the existence of gunpowder weapons in Malacca and other Malay states before the arrival of the Portuguese:[23]: 97–98
The cannons found in Malacca were of various types:esmeril (1/4 to 1/2-pounderswivel gun, probably refers tocetbang orlantaka),[24]falconet (cast bronze swivel gun larger than theesmeril, 1 to 2-pounder, probably refers tolela),[24] mediumsaker (long cannon orculverin between a six and a ten-pounder, probably refers tomeriam)[25] andbombard (fat, heavy and short cannon).[16]: 46 The Malays also have one beautiful large cannon sent by the king ofCalicut.[16]: 47 [19]: 22
Despite having a lot of artillery and firearms, the weapons of Malacca were mostly and mainly purchased from the Javanese and Gujarati, where the Javanese and Gujarati were the operators of the weapons. In the early 16th century, before the Portuguese arrival, the Malays were a people who lacked firearms. The Malay chronicle,Sejarah Melayu, mentioned that in 1509 they do not understand “why bullets killed”, indicating their unfamiliarity with using firearms in battle, if not in ceremony.[21]: 3 As recorded inSejarah Melayu:
Setelah datang ke Melaka, maka bertemu, ditembaknya dengan meriam. Maka segala orang Melaka pun hairan, terkejut mendengar bunyi meriam itu. Katanya, "Bunyi apa ini, seperti guruh ini?". Maka meriam itu pun datanglah mengenai orang Melaka, ada yang putus lehernya, ada yang putus tangannya, ada yang panggal pahanya. Maka bertambahlah hairannya orang Melaka melihat fi'il bedil itu. Katanya: "Apa namanya senjata yang bulat itu maka dengan tajamnya maka ia membunuh?"
After (the Portuguese) coming to Malacca, then met (each other), they shot (the city) with cannon. So all the people of Malacca were surprised, shocked to hear the sound of the cannon. They said, "What is this sound, like thunder?". Then the cannon came about the people of Malacca, some lost their necks, some lost their arms, some lost their thighs. The people of Malacca were even more astonished to see the effect of the gun. They said: "What is this weapon called that is round, yet is sharp enough to kill?"[26]: 254–255 [12]: 219
Lendas da India byGaspar Correia andAsia Portuguesa byManuel de Faria y Sousa confirmedSejarah Melayu's account. Both recorded a similar story, although not as spectacular as described inSejarah Melayu.[27]: 120–121 [28]: 43 TheEpic of Hang Tuah narrates a Malaccan expedition to the country of Rum (theOttoman Empire) to buybedil (guns) and largemeriam (cannons) after their first encounter with the Portuguese in 1509 CE, indicating their shortage of firearms and gunpowder weapons.[29]: 205–248 [note 1] Malaccan expedition to Rum (Ottoman Turks) to buy cannons never actually happened, it was only mentioned in the fictitious literatureHikayat Hang Tuah, which in reality based on the sending of a series of Acehnese embassies to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.[30]
The Dutch and Portuguese quickly learned that they could trade cannons not only forspices andporcelain, but also for safe passage through pirate-infested waters. Local foundries continued to produce guns, using local patterns and designs from localbrass and bronze objects. Stylizedcrocodiles,dolphins, birds, anddragons were commonmotifs.[citation needed]
The ancient walled city ofCainta located in the opposite banks of thePasig River,[31] is recorded as a fortified city with bamboo thickets and lantaka guns on its walls witnessed by the Spanish conquistadors on the Siege of Cainta in 1571.[31][32]
As described in an anonymous 1572 account documented in Volume 3 ofBlair and Robertson's compiled translations:[31]
This said village had about a thousand inhabitants, and was surrounded by very tall and very dense bamboo thickets, and fortified with a wall and a few small culverins. The same river as that of Manilla circles around the village and a branch of it passes through the middle dividing it in two sections.
In the walls of oldManila, a gunsmith namedPanday Pira[33][34] established afoundry on the northern bank of thePasig River.Rajah Sulayman commissioned Panday Pira to cast thecannon that were mounted on the palisades surrounding his kingdom. In 1570, Castilian forces under the command ofMartin de Goiti captured Manila and took these artillery pieces aswar booty, presenting them toMiguel López de Legazpi, the first SpanishGovernor-General of the Philippines.[35]
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If a native vessel was unarmed, it was usually regarded by the local populace as improperly equipped and poorly decorated. Whetherfarmers, fishermen, orheadhunters, the villagers who lived in thelonghouses along Borneo's rivers lived in fear of being taken by pirates who used both vessel-mounted and hand-held cannons. Villages and tribesmen that were armed with mounted or handheld cannons had a distinct advantage over those who could only rely onbows and arrows,spears,blowguns andkrises (swords).
Land transportation in the 17th and 18th centuryJava andBorneo was extremely difficult and cannons were fired for virtually all types of signaling. Whether they were fired incelebration of a birth or wedding, or to warn another hilltop fortress or riverbank fishing village of an impending attack, cannons were used to transmit messages telling of urgent or special events. Such events ranged fromyellow fever andcholera epidemics to the start or finish of religious holidays such asRamadan.
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Distinguished visitors were ushered into longhouses with great ceremony, accompanied by the firing of the longhouse's cannon, much like today's21-gun salute. These cannons were a display of the status and wealth of theextended family that controlled the longhouse.
All worked brass, bronze andcopper had value and were used as trade items in earlyBorneo. Cannons were frequently part of thebride price demanded by the family of an exceptionally desirable bride or thedowry paid to the groom.
Many of the small cannons, often called personal cannons or hand cannons, had been received as honors and were kept and passed down in families, but in hard times they also served as a form of currency that could keep the family fed. As a recognized form ofcurrency, cannons could be traded for rice, drums, canoes, tools, weapons, livestock,debts of honor, and even settlement of penalties for crimes ranging from the accidental death of a fellow villager toheadhunting against another tribe.
Large cannons had the extra value of being used in both celebratory times and inwarfare. The larger and/or more elaborate the cannon, the greater the trade value, and thus the greater the status of the owner.
Many of the finest cannons were given out by theSultans of Brunei as part of ceremonies (such as birthdays or weddings) of the many princes and princesses of the extended Royal family. Cannons were frequently presented to guests along with awards and titles, and were meant to guarantee the recipients' allegiance to the Sultan.Mortars, cannon, and signal guns of all sizes were typically fired with colorfulpyrotechnics on these occasions; the louder and more elaborate, the greater the honor.
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In the 1840sEngland began suppressing piracy and headhunting andRajah James Brooke (a wealthy Englishman who established the dynasty that ruledSarawak from 1841 until 1946) distributed numerous Brunei cast hand cannons to guarantee the cooperation and allegiance of the local chiefs.Lantaka was used by Moro soldiers in theMoro Rebellion against U.S. troops in the Philippines.[36] They were also used by the Filipinos during thePhilippine Revolution, this time copied from European models and cast from church bells. One cannon founder was aChinese Filipino named Jose Ignacio Pawa, a blacksmith also.
Today these guns can be found on virtually all of the islands of thePacific Rim, but they are most commonly found in the Muslim areas of Indonesia and Malaysia. The largest collection is in Brunei, where it is now illegal to export them. Even in other countries, a museum export permit is usually required.
These cannons are now highly sought after by collectors, with some of the realized prices exceeding $50,000USD for a single gun. The more common guns can be bought for under $1,000. Replicas and forgeries oflantaka are known to exist in considerable numbers.[37]
Today most of the Christians in Mindanao and the Visayas refer the word "lantaka" tobamboo cannons (a noisemaker) or any improvised home-made noisemakers of the same firing mechanism usually made of bamboo tubes (Pula in Meranau or "Lapu"), segmented cans of condensed milk, orPVC pipes. They are usually used duringNew Year's Day celebrations as noisemakers, or often in medium-scale gang wars. The firing mechanism is the same as of the originallantaka, with denatured alcohol or calcium carbide mixed with water as its "gunpowder" (fuel) and a small lighted torch or lighter as the igniter.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Indonesian traditional weapons, armors, and premodern gunpowder-based weapons | ||||||||||||||||||||
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