Bedil (term)

Bedil is a term from Maritime Southeast Asia which refers to various types of firearms and gunpowder weapons, from small pistols to large siege guns. The term bedil comes from wedil (or wediyal) and wediluppu (or wediyuppu) in the Tamil language.^[1] In their original form, these words refer to gunpowder blast and saltpeter, respectively. But after being absorbed into bedil in the Malay 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 terms bedil and bedhil are known in Javanese and Balinese. In Sundanese the term is bedil, in Batak it is known as bodil, in Makasarese baddilik, in Buginese, balili, in Dayak language, badil, in Tagalog, baril, in Bisayan, bádil, in Bikol languages, badil, and in Malay it is badel or bedil.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History

It is possible that gunpowder weapons were used in Java by Kublai Khan's Chinese forces who sought to invade Java in 1293.^[4]^[5]^[6]^: 57 The Javanese gun used in the Majapahit era has also been referred to as bedil.^[7]

The knowledge of making "true" firearms probably came to Southeast Asia in the late fifteenth century via the Islamic nations of West Asia, most probably the Arabs. 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 of Java arquebus, which was also called a bedil.^[1] Portuguese influence on Malay weaponry after the capture of Malacca (1511), resulted in a new type of hybrid tradition matchlock firearm, the istinggar.^[9]^: 53

Portuguese and Spanish invaders were unpleasantly surprised and even outgunned occasionally.^[10] Duarte Barbosa recorded the abundance of gunpowder-based weapons in Java c. 1514. The Javanese were deemed as expert gun casters and good artillerymen. The weapon found there include one-pounder cannons, long muskets, spingarde (arquebus), schioppi (hand cannon), Greek fire, guns (cannons), and other fire-works.^[11]^: 254^[12]^: 198^[13]^: 224 When Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511 A.D., breech-loading swivel guns (cetbang) and muzzle-loading swivel guns (lela and rentaka) were found and captured by the Portuguese.^[14]^: 50 In the battle, the Malays were using cannons, matchlock guns, and "firing tubes".^[15]^{: 146–147} By the early 16th century, the Javanese already produced large guns, some of them still survived until the present day and are dubbed as "sacred cannon" or "holy cannon". These cannons varied between 180 and 260-pounders, weighing anywhere between 3–8 tons, length of them between 3–6 m (9.8–19.7 ft).^[16]

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 colonial Dutch occupiers.^[18] According to colonel McKenzie quoted in Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles', The History of Java (1817), the purest sulfur was supplied from a crater from a mountain near the straits of Bali.^[17]^{: 180–181}

For firearms using flintlock mechanism, the inhabitants of the Nusantara archipelago are reliant on European powers, as no Nusantaran smith could produce such complex components.^[19]^: cxli^[20]^: 98^[21]^{: 42 and 50} These flintlock firearms are completely different weapons and were known by another name, senapan or senapang, from the Dutch word snappaan.^[8]^: 22 The gun-making areas of Nusantara could make these senapan, the barrel and the wooden part is made in Nusantara, but the mechanism is imported from the European traders.^[21]^{: 42 and 50}^[22]^: 65^[20]^: 98

List of weapon classified as bedil

Below are weapons historically may be referred to as bedil. The full description should be found on their respective pages. It is sorted alphabetically.

Meriam

Formerly used for a kind of cannon that fires a shot weighing 6 pounds or more,^[26]^: 93 now it is de facto Malaysian and Indonesian term for cannon.^[27]^[28]

Miniature meriam kecil

Also known as currency cannon, this firearm is produced mainly for trading and novelty item.

Pemuras

Native name for blunderbuss.

Rentaka

Native swivel gun, very popular among the Malays.

Terakul

A type of dragoon pistol.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ Syahri, Aswandi (6 August 2018). "Kitab Ilmu Bedil Melayu". Jantung Melayu. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
^ Rahmawati, Siska (2016). "Peristilahan Persenjataan Tradisional Masyarakat Melayu di Kabupaten Sambas". Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran Khatulistiwa. 5.
^ Mayers (1876). "Chinese explorations of the Indian Ocean during the fifteenth century". The China Review. IV: p. 178.
^ 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.
^ Pramono, Djoko (2005). Budaya Bahari. Gramedia Pustaka Utama. ISBN 9789792213768.
^ "Mengejar Jejak Majapahit di Tanadoang Selayar - Semua Halaman - National Geographic". nationalgeographic.grid.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2020-03-19.
^ ^a ^b Crawfurd, John (1856). A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries. Bradbury and Evans.
^ Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan (September 2013). "Teknologi Istinggar Beberapa Ciri Fizikal dalam Aplikasi Teknikalnya". International Journal of the Malay World and Civilisation (IMAN). 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. ISBN 978-90-04-15091-1.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ Partington, J. R. (1999). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5954-0.
^ Charney, Michael (2004). Southeast Asian Warfare, 1300-1900. BRILL. ISBN 9789047406921.
^ 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.
^ Modern Asian Studies. Vol. 22, No. 3, Special Issue: Asian Studies in Honour of Professor Charles Boxer (1988), pp. 607–628 (22 pages).
^ ^a ^b Raffles, Thomas Stamford (2010) [1817]. A History of Java Volume 1 ([Repr.]. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-580347-1.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Egerton, W. (1880). An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms. W.H. Allen.
^ ^a ^b Tarling, Nicholas (1999). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66370-0.
^ Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan (2014). "Manuskrip Ilmu Bedil Sebagai Sumber Etnosejarah Teknologi Senjata Api Melayu". Jurnal Kemanusiaan. 21: 53–71.
^ 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. In The Cambridge history of southeast Asia. ed. Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 345–401.
^ FILIPINO BLADE CULTURE AND THE ADVENT OF FIREARMS
^ Gardner, G. B. (1936). Keris and Other Malay Weapons. Singapore: Progressive Publishing Company.
^ Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (2014). Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
^ Departemen Pendidikan Nasional (2008). Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia Pusat Bahasa Edisi Keempat. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

[:12-1] 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.

[2] Syahri, Aswandi (6 August 2018). "Kitab Ilmu Bedil Melayu". Jantung Melayu. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.

[3] Rahmawati, Siska (2016). "Peristilahan Persenjataan Tradisional Masyarakat Melayu di Kabupaten Sambas". Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran Khatulistiwa. 5.

[4] Mayers (1876). "Chinese explorations of the Indian Ocean during the fifteenth century". The China Review. IV: p. 178.

[:72-5] 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.

[6] Pramono, Djoko (2005). Budaya Bahari. Gramedia Pustaka Utama. ISBN 9789792213768.

[7] "Mengejar Jejak Majapahit di Tanadoang Selayar - Semua Halaman - National Geographic". nationalgeographic.grid.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2020-03-19.

[:22-8] Crawfurd, John (1856). A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries. Bradbury and Evans.

[:142-9] Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan (September 2013). "Teknologi Istinggar Beberapa Ciri Fizikal dalam Aplikasi Teknikalnya". International Journal of the Malay World and Civilisation (IMAN). 1: 51–59.

[10] Atsushi, Ota (2006). Changes of regime and social dynamics in West Java : society, state, and the outer world of Banten, 1750–1830. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15091-1.

[:14-11] 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.

[12] 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.

[13] Partington, J. R. (1999). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5954-0.

[:022-14] Charney, Michael (2004). Southeast Asian Warfare, 1300-1900. BRILL. ISBN 9789047406921.

[15] 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.

[16] Modern Asian Studies. Vol. 22, No. 3, Special Issue: Asian Studies in Honour of Professor Charles Boxer (1988), pp. 607–628 (22 pages).

[:132-17] Raffles, Thomas Stamford (2010) [1817]. A History of Java Volume 1 ([Repr.]. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-580347-1.

[Dipanegara,_P._B._R_1981-18] 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.

[19] Raffles, Sir Thomas Stamford (1830). The History of Java, Volume 2. Java: J. Murray.

[:6-20] Egerton, W. (1880). An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms. W.H. Allen.

[:9-21] Tarling, Nicholas (1999). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66370-0.

[:52-22] Hasbullah, Wan Mohd Dasuki Wan (2014). "Manuskrip Ilmu Bedil Sebagai Sumber Etnosejarah Teknologi Senjata Api Melayu". Jurnal Kemanusiaan. 21: 53–71.

[23] Teoh, Alex Eng Kean (2005). The Might of the Miniature Cannon A treasure of Borneo and the Malay Archipelago. Asean Heritage.

[:3-24] Andaya, L. Y. 1999. Interaction with the outside world and adaptation in Southeast Asian society 1500–1800. In The Cambridge history of southeast Asia. ed. Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 345–401.

[25] FILIPINO BLADE CULTURE AND THE ADVENT OF FIREARMS

[26] Gardner, G. B. (1936). Keris and Other Malay Weapons. Singapore: Progressive Publishing Company.

[:0-27] Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (2014). Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

[:02-28] Departemen Pendidikan Nasional (2008). Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia Pusat Bahasa Edisi Keempat. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

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v t e Early firearms and thermal weapons
Timeline History of gunpowder Historiography History of the firearm
Firearms	Arquebus Bajozutsu pistol Bedil tumbak hand cannon Blunderbuss Combination gun Dragon English horse pistol Fire lance Hand cannon Hand mortar Heilongjiang hand cannon Howdah pistol Huo Chong hand cannon Huo Qiang lance hand cannon Istinggar arquebus Java arquebus Jiaozhi arquebus Meriam kecil hand cannon Muff pistol Nock M1779 seven barrel gun Petronel Pepperbox Pistol Puckle Μ1717 revolver gun San Yan Chong three barrel hand cannon Shou Chong hand cannon Tanegashima arquebus Toradar arquebus Tu Huo Qiang hand cannon
Rifles and muskets	Belton M1777 repeating musket Brown Bess musket Charleville musket Che Dian Chong musket Cookson M1750 repeating rifle M1696 French common musket Girardoni M1780 repeating air rifle Hartingk M1670 repeating rifle Jäger rifle Jazayer musket Jezail musket Jingal Kabyle musket Kalthoff M1630 repeating rifle Meylin M1719 Pennsylvania-Kentucky rifled musket Musket Musketoon Potzdam musket Spanish M1752 musket Springfield musket Wall gun Xun Lei Chong spear five barrel revolver musket
Early artillery	Abus Artillery of France in the Middle Ages Basilisk Baton a feu Breech-loading swivel gun Byzantine fire tube (cannon) Cannon Carronade Cetbang Chongtong Culverin Ekor lotong Falconet Fauconneau Gunpowder artillery in the Middle Ages Gunpowder weapons in the Song dynasty Hongyipao Hu Dun Pao cannon Korean cannon Lantaka Lela Mortar Obusier de vaisseau Organ gun Pierrier a boite Pot de fer Prangi Swivel gun Tarasnice Veuglaire Xanadu Gun Wankou Chong Wuwei Bronze Cannon
Medieval large calibre guns	Bombard Basilic Byzantine bombard Dardanelles bombard Dulle Griet Faule Grete Faule Mette Grose Bochse Mons Meg Orban bombard Pumhart von Steyr
Early rockets and incendiaries	Bo-hiya rocket arrow Byzantine rocket launcher Congreve rocket Fierce-fire Oil Cabinet (flamethrower) Fire arrow (rocket arrow) Fire crow rocket bomb Greek fire Hale rocket launcher Huo Che rocket arrow launcher Hwacha rocket arrow launcher Meng Huo You (Chinese petroleum) Mysorean rocket Naphtha Pen Huo Qi Petroleum naphtha Singijeon rocket arrow Thunder crash bomb
Firing mechanisms	Breechloader Doglock Flintlock Matchlock Miquelet lock Muzzleloader Snaphance Snaplock Snap matchlock Wheellock
Literatures	Huolongjing Jixiao Xinshu Wubei Zhi Wujing Zongyao
Category:Early modern firearms Category:Early firearms

Bedil (term)

History

List of weapon classified as bedil

Bedil tombak

Cetbang

Ekor lotong

Istinggar

Java arquebus

Lantaka

Lela