Lantaka
[6]The name may stem from the Malay word lantak, which means "hammering down" or "ramming down",[7]: 123 referencing its loading process (muzzle-loading).
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 the Portuguese 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.
[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-pounder swivel gun, probably refers to cetbang or lantaka),[24] falconet (cast bronze swivel gun larger than the esmeril, 1 to 2-pounder, probably refers to lela),[24] medium saker (long cannon or culverin between a six and a ten-pounder, probably refers to meriam)[25] and bombard (fat, heavy and short cannon).
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 in Sejarah Melayu:Setelah datang ke Melaka, maka bertemu, ditembaknya dengan meriam.
[26]: 254–255 [12]: 219 Lendas da India by Gaspar Correia and Asia Portuguesa by Manuel de Faria y Sousa confirmed Sejarah Melayu's account.
[27]: 120–121 [28]: 43 The Epic of Hang Tuah narrates a Malaccan expedition to the country of Rum (the Ottoman Empire) to buy bedil (guns) and large meriam (cannons) after their first encounter with the Portuguese in 1509 CE, indicating their shortage of firearms and gunpowder weapons.
[30] The Dutch and Portuguese quickly learned that they could trade cannons not only for spices and porcelain, but also for safe passage through pirate-infested waters.
[31][32] As described in an anonymous 1572 account documented in Volume 3 of Blair 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.
Villages and tribesmen that were armed with mounted or handheld cannons had a distinct advantage over those who could only rely on bows and arrows, spears, blowguns and krises (swords).
Land transportation in the 17th and 18th century Java and Borneo was extremely difficult and cannons were fired for virtually all types of signaling.
Whether they were fired in celebration 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.
As a recognized form of currency, 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 to headhunting against another tribe.
Many of the finest cannons were given out by the Sultans of Brunei as part of ceremonies (such as birthdays or weddings) of the many princes and princesses of the extended Royal family.
Mortars, cannon, and signal guns of all sizes were typically fired with colorful pyrotechnics on these occasions; the louder and more elaborate, the greater the honor.
In the 1840s England began suppressing piracy and headhunting and Rajah James Brooke (a wealthy Englishman who established the dynasty that ruled Sarawak from 1841 until 1946) distributed numerous Brunei cast hand cannons to guarantee the cooperation and allegiance of the local chiefs.
[37] Today most of the Christians in Mindanao and the Visayas refer the word "lantaka" to bamboo 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, or PVC pipes.
The firing mechanism is the same as of the original lantaka, with denatured alcohol or calcium carbide mixed with water as its "gunpowder" (fuel) and a small lighted torch or lighter as the igniter.
