Bedil is aMaritime Southeast Asian term that refers to various types offirearms and gunpowder weapons, ranging from small pistols to largesiege guns. The termbedil comes fromTamilwedil (orwediyal) andwediluppu (orwediyuppu).[1] In their original form, these words refer to gunpowder blast andsaltpeter, respectively. After being absorbed intobedil in theMalay language and in a number of other cultures in the archipelago, Tamil vocabulary is used to refer to all types of weapons that use gunpowder. The termsbedil andbedhil are known inJavanese andBalinese. InSundanese the term isbedil, inBatak it is known asbodil, inMakassaresebaddilik, inBuginese,balili, inDayak language,badil, inTagalog,baril, inBisayan,bádil, inBikol languages,badil, and inMalay it isbadel orbedil.[1][2][3]
Gun-boring inLombok, 1869: "The bottom of the pole has an iron ring, and a hole in which four-cornered borers of hardened iron can be fitted. Thebarrel to be bored is buried upright in the ground, the borer is inserted into it, the top of the stick or vertical shaft is held by a cross-piece of bamboo with a hole in it, and the basket is filled with stones to get the required weight. Two boys turn the bamboo round."
The knowledge of making "true" firearms probably came to Southeast Asia in the late fifteenth century via theIslamic nations of West Asia, most probably theArabs. The precise year of introduction is unknown, but it may be safely concluded to be no earlier than 1460.[8]: 23 This resulted in the development ofJava arquebus, which was also called a bedil.[1] Portuguese influence on Malay weaponry after thecapture of Malacca (1511), resulted in a new type of hybrid tradition matchlock firearm, theistinggar.[9]: 53
Variety of Malay cannons: (1) Meriam kalok, short and squat swivel gun. (2) Lela. (3) Lela (or rentaka). (4) Lela rambang (blunderbuss lela). (5) Ekor lotong. (6) Lela.
Saltpeter harvesting was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose. The Dutch punishment for possession of non-permitted gunpowder appears to have been amputation.[17]: 180–181 Ownership and manufacture of gunpowder was later prohibited by the colonialDutch occupiers.[18] According to colonel McKenzie quoted in SirThomas Stamford Raffles',The History of Java (1817), the purest sulfur was supplied froma crater from a mountain near the straits ofBali.[17]: 180–181
For firearms with flintlock mechanisms, the inhabitants of the Nusantara archipelago depended on European powers, as no local metalsmiths were capable of producing such complex components.[19]: cxli [20]: 98 [21]: 42 and 50 Flintlock firearms were different weapons, also known assenapan orsenapang, derived from the Dutch wordsnaphaan. In the gun-making regions of Nusantara, thesesenapan could be produced locally, with the barrel and wooden components crafted in Nusantara, and mechanism imported from European traders.[21]: 42 and 50 [22]: 65 [20]: 98
A type of cannon similar to a rentaka, but larger in dimension.
Meriam
A term formerly used for a cannon that fires a shot weighing 6 pounds (2.7 kg). It is now ade factoMalaysian andIndonesian term for a cannon.[26][27][28]
^Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan (September 2013). "Teknologi Istinggar Beberapa Ciri Fizikal dalam Aplikasi Teknikalnya".International Journal of the Malay World and Civilisation.1:51–59.
^Atsushi, Ota (2006).Changes of regime and social dynamics in West Java : society, state, and the outer world of Banten, 1750–1830. Leiden: Brill.ISBN978-90-04-15091-1.
^Charney, Michael (2004).Southeast Asian Warfare, 1300–1900. Brill.ISBN9789047406921.
^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.26:146–174.
^Modern Asian Studies. Vol. 22, No. 3, Special Issue: Asian Studies in Honour of Professor Charles Boxer (1988), pp. 607–628 (22 pages).
^Dipanegara, P.B.R. Carey,Babad Dipanagara: an account of the outbreak of the Java war, 1825–30 : the Surakarta court version of the Babad Dipanagara with translations into English and Indonesian volume 9: Council of the M.B.R.A.S. by Art Printing Works: 1981.
^Raffles, Sir Thomas Stamford (1830).The History of Java, Volume 2. Java: J. Murray.
^abEgerton, W. (1880).An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms. W.H. Allen.
^Teoh, Alex Eng Kean (2005).The Might of the Miniature Cannon A treasure of Borneo and the Malay Archipelago. Asean Heritage.
^Andaya, L. Y. 1999. Interaction with the outside world and adaptation in Southeast Asian society 1500–1800. InThe Cambridge history of southeast Asia. ed. Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 345–401.
_Fauconneau_de_1589.jpg)