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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 "Hand cannon" ( stangenbüchse in German language).
Ma Huan (Zheng He's translator) visited Majapahit in 1413 and took notes about the local customs. His book, Yingya Shenglan, 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). " Chinese explorations of the Indian Ocean during the fifteenth century". The China Review. IV: p. 178. 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). The gun's ignition hole is protected from the rain by a cover connected with a hinge.Feldhaus, F. M. (1897). Eine Chinesische Stangenbüchse von 1421. In Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde volume 4. Getty Research Institute. Dresden: Verein für historische Waffenkunde. 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.
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. In the 1511 siege of Malacca, the Malays were using cannons, matchlock guns, and "firing tubes". 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.
Local babad (historical text) of the post-17th century occasionally mention bedil tombak. In Lombok example of such babads were babad Lombok, babad Mengui, and babad Sakra.Lalu Gde Suparman (1994). 9789794593950, Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. . ISBN 9789794593950 They are also mentioned in Sundanese and Balinese texts. During the Bali-Lombok war (ca. early 19th century–end of 19th century), a part of Karangasem troops were armed with bedil tombak.
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