page_title: Istinggar
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Istinggar / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Cropped image showing 2 weapons:1. Matchlock. 4 ft. 5 in. long, barrel 3 ft. 3 in., diameter of little finger. Silver-gilt pattern of dragon, floral decorations engraved on it. Name and crest of Daimio, tho whose retainer it belonged, also engraved on it. Butt of light-coloured wood. (Brought from japan by Reginald Cholmondeley, Esq.)2. Long Gun. Barrel 5 ft. 4 in. long, with short stock, 11 in., with Malay, Indian, and Chinese ornaments, made probably at Bali, with Javanese inscription on brass spring of the trigger. (Guthrie Coll.)Uploader note: The upper gun is Japanese tanegashima arquebus (135 cm long), while the lower gun is Balinese istinggar (190.5 cm long).
context_page_description: Istinggar is a type of matchlock firearm built by the Malays of Indonesian archipelago. The firearms is a result of Portuguese influence to local weaponry, particularly after the capture of Malacca. Before this type of gun, in the archipelago already existed primitive long gun called bedil, or Java arquebus as the Chinese call it.
context_section_description: The predecessor of firearms, the pole gun (bedil tombak), was recorded as being used by Java in 1413. However the knowledge of making "true" firearms in the archipelago came after the middle of 15th century. It was brought by 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. Before the arrival of the Portuguese in Southeast Asia, the Malays already possessed primitive firearms, the Java arquebus. This firearm has a very long barrel (up to 2.2 m in length), and during the Portuguese conquest of malacca (1511), it is proven to able to penetrate a ship's hull to the other side. However the lock mechanism and the barrel of the gun is very crude.
  The Portuguese in Goa and Malacca independently produced their own matchlock firearms. Starting in the 1513, the tradition of German-Bohemian gun making were merged with Turkish gun making traditions. This resulted in Indo-Portuguese tradition of matchlocks. Indian craftsmen modified the design by introducing a very short, almost pistol-like buttstock held against the cheek, not the shoulder, when aiming. They also reduced the caliber and made the gun lighter and more balanced. This was a hit with the Portuguese who did a lot of fighting aboard ship and on river craft, and valued a more compact gun.
  The Malay gunfounders, compared as being in the same level with those of Germany, quickly adapted these new firearms. The tanegashima gun of Japan seems to have been based on snap matchlocks that were produced in Portuguese Malacca, at the armory of Malacca. The lock mechanism of istinggar is usually made of brass. The Malays used bamboo covers in their matchlock arquebus barrel and bound them with rattan, to keep them dry in wet weather. Istinggar is typically longer than Japanese guns. The absence of a channel for the ramrod indicated that they were used resting on a wall or used from a ship's railing like the lela or rentaka. In this case, the ramrod did not need a compartment. The Malays also made small mallet to drive the musket balls down the barrel.
  Minangkabau people of interior Sumatra is renowned for their manufacture of gunpowder-based weapons. The manufacture of cannons by Minangkabau people is known before the discovery of Cape of Good Hope by European people (1488). Iron and steel was produced in their forges, but by the 18th century they became more reliant to the Europeans. The matchlock arquebus of Minangkabau was dubbed "Istenggara Menangkabowe" (or istinggar Minangkabau). The production was enough to fulfill local needs, the Minangkabau also exported their firearms to other areas, such as Aceh, Malacca, and Siak Sultanate. The barrels are made by rolling a flatted bar of iron of proportionate dimensions spirally round a circular rod, and beating it till the parts of the former unite, and the art of boring is probably unknown to them. This manufacture continued even into the 19th century, when matchlock has already been obsolete. A manuscript called Ilmu Bedil (means "knowledge of firearm") is a treatise about this type of istinggar. The Minangkabau also produced other firearm, the terakul (dragoon pistol).
  The Makassar people of the Kingdom of Gowa, which maintained friendly relationship with the Portuguese since 1528, benefitted considerably from Portuguese assistance in building up its military strength. Converted to Islam in early 1600s, they made holy war (jihad) to its nonbeliever neighbour, the Bugis. The Makassan were already manufacturing muskets, probably from Portuguese espingarda, sometime in the late 16th or early 17th century. By 18th century, their neighbor (Bugis) produced guns with straight bore and fine inlay work that attracted the admirations of the Europeans. During years of warfare, Bugis and Makassarese soldiers, dressed in waju rante (chain mail) and carrying muskets which they made themselves, acquired formidable reputation for ferocity and courage. 
  Eventually, the Istinggar spread to the Muslim controlled areas of the Philippine arch
caption: A Japanese arquebus (135 cm long) and a Balinese istinggar (190.5 cm long).
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