Lantaka

[Naga Basuki]

The Seller claimed this is a Spanish Lantaka cannon. Bronze, porbably cast in Borneo in the early 1700s. It is 55" long and weighs about 180 pounds. I have placed a Moro spear in order to qualify it in an edged weapons forum. <grin>

Your comments please...

[MABAGANI]

Nice Budjak...
Now can we see close ups of the swivel mount without the stand, torch hole and rear?
Without close examination, it looks like the rear was cut off.

[John]

I'd speculate that this Lantaka was probably made in Brunei. Items as such were known to have been made there and although I've seen similar items (at least I think so) as such, I can't be sure about this piece due to my lack of close attention given to these items.

[Battara]

Based on the artwork I have seen so far, I would not have any problems placing it from Borneo, even possibly from the Sulu regions of the Philippines. What muddies the waters a little (every pun intended ) is the fact that Moros inhabited the region and did not consider themselves Bornean or Filipino in division. A very nice piece and congratulations (envy, envy, grumble, grumble...).

By the way, love the Moro spear too.

[Federico]

For a moment I thought you were gonna fire the spear out of the cannon. Beautiful stuff. Are you planning on firing it? I can only imagine what the neighbors would say, then again all my neighbors think me strange for trimming my bushes with what to them are giant knives.

[Naga Basuki]

Originally Posted by Federico

For a moment I thought you were gonna fire the spear out of the cannon. Beautiful stuff. Are you planning on firing it? I can only imagine what the neighbors would say, then again all my neighbors think me strange for trimming my bushes with what to them are giant knives.

Kinda looks like a Lantaka Harpoon Gun! But no, keeping the Budiak!

Am thinking about firing one of the others. But there seems to be a restrictive new gov't reg on black powder. Looking into getting some Pyrodex (FG or coarse cannon grade).

I live in downtown Atlanta in a converted warehouse with neighbors on three sides even though I have a bit of land around me, however on the fourth side, nobody can see, but they can sure hear. And there is a lot of smoke even from Pyrodex.

Waiting until New Years. Atlanta goes nuts with fireworks and I may set one off, but probably not this Spanish Cannon pictured, I suspect an old repair to the barrell.

I have another Lantaka that is very sturdy. Certainly made for fighting. A "Spiral" model that is bigger and heavier, but has a small bore. Should easily stand the stress. The Spiral is on the outside, all Lantakas are smoothbore.

But Cannon stress is always a question and tragic accidents have occurred.

http://www.ohsu.edu/croet/face/reports/2003-20-01.pdf

Cast Iron cannon are much more likely to explode. One expert told me that ALL cast iron cannons would one day explode as the metal fatigued. The big difference in bronze and cast iron is that bronze ruptures while cast iron turns into deadly shrapnel.

A problem with early cannoneers was that they were always trying for more range, bigger charges. However with a cast iron cannon crew the amount that was too much was usually unknown because when too much was used, the cannon exploded and took the crew with it! There were also diffrences in black powder composition and casting. Dangerous business.

I would use a small charge and no projectile, but I'll take some pictures!

[Rivkin]

Thanks for the article. The thing I don't understand is that they seem to blame the accident on the personal, "misfire procedures" etc.

If the cannon bursted apart, it's definitely not from a tiny amount of powder in a touchhole.

[MABAGANI]

Spanish cannons are plain in form, the lantaka with the swivel mounts are from Brunei/Sulu/Mindanao, etc., Moro Sultanates.

[zamboanga]

impressive lantaka naga basuki. i posted a lantaka on the old swap forum last november. it was a 47" inch lantaka and easily weighed over 50 kilos. found found off the coast of the city, it was sold to a local buyer for a give away price.

what i'm looking for are pictures of the dreaded double barreled lantaka which is said to be the precursor of the gatling gun as mentioned in this link:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/9845/tech.htm

old folks here still tell tales about this mean weapon but no seems to have a picture of it.

[jwpettipas]

Very nice pictures, a great looking set of peices. I wish I knew more so I could make an educated comment, but alas, I do not. However, if anybody can find pictures of that double barrelled lantaka as mentioned, I would also like to see pictures of that.

[Naga Basuki]

Originally Posted by MABAGANI

Spanish cannons are plain in form, the lantaka with the swivel mounts are from Brunei/Sulu/Mindanao, etc., Moro Sultanates.

Thank you for your input. From what I understand, most cannon were cast in Borneo due to the tin and copper deposits as well as the craftsmen. However different styles were cast there.

The Spanish style is more plain, but many nationalities used swivel mount guns.

I have much more elaborate cannons and will post some pictures soon

[MABAGANI]

If I recall, the Stone's book has lantaka of different sizes, also a double barreled type. I've seen lantaka without the swivel too. Natives have different names for the varying lengths, but lantaka has become the catchall. Sometimes you'll find writing and insignias cast into the cannons designating the origins. The likely sign of a Moro made arsenal is the okir motif.

[Naga Basuki]

Originally Posted by MABAGANI

The likely sign of a Moro made arsenal is the okir motif.

Good info. What is the okir motif?

[MABAGANI]

If you look at your original pics of the lantaka there are okir designs inside the triangle patterns around sections of the cannon. This Islamic inspired art is found on Moro hilts, blades, armor, textile, architecture, etc...

[Battara]

The okir designs are the floral designs on your cannon. On my lantaka you can see the Moro floral designs, especially on the top toward the back:

[Philip]

Earlier on this thread was some discussion of firing a lantaka in the spirit of celebratory exhuberance. My suggestion is.... DON'T !!!

Although I would agree with the person who pointed out the tendency of cast-iron barrels to weaken with age and the stress of repeated firing, we mustn't forget that some cupric alloys (brass and bronze fall into this category) can be subject to similar deterioration. Old metal can crystallize. These alloys tend to "work-harden", in other words, repeated impact stress (whether by hammering or from repeated explosions) reduces the ductility of the metal, making it more brittle.

Furthermore, these old cannons were made in an age and in a technological milieu in which the composition of the alloy and the quality of the casting could not be monitored as precisely as it came to be in industrialized societies.

From practical experience, let me share the unfortunate experience of a fellow I knew in Hawaii about 30 years ago. He had an outstanding collection of lantakas. Liked to fire a couple of them (blank charges of black powder or Pyrodex) on New Year's eve. He was very conservative in loading these, just enough powder to make a bang, and being careful to seat the wad right against the charge with no air space. One year, his best lantaka blew up, it fractured into three pieces, one of which flew onto the roof of the house. He never expected that one to fail, it appeared to be the most skilfully cast one he had ever seen, no pits or pores in the metal, everything looking like "quality". Needless to say, there were no more salvoes the next year.

[Battara]

Phillip is on the money. The worst thing you could do is fire the thing and risk your safety and a piece of artwork like this! Folks have suggested I do the same, but I don't want to blow apart my modest piece and send myself to the hospital I where I work all a the same time! It has lived it's life, let it rest now as an old witness to history.

[mmontoro]

Check the "Hidden Room" thread for an image of a double-barreled lantaka and other neat stuff.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=137