The name istinggar comes from Portuguese word espingarda meaning arquebus or musket. This term then corrupted into astingarda and istingarda, eventually to istinggar. The word has many variations in the archipelago, such as setinggar, satinggar, satenggar, istenggara, astengger, altanggar, astinggal, ispinggar, and tinggar.
History
The predecessor of firearms, the pole gun, 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, and during the Portuguese conquest of malacca, it is proven to able to penetrate a ship's hull to the other side. However the lock mechanism 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. 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. 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". 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 is a treatise about this type of istinggar. The Minangkabau also produced other firearm, the terakul. 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 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 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 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 archipelago, where it was known as "astinggal". The 1613 San Buenaventura Tagalog dictionary defines "astingal" as "arquebus, of the kind they used to use in olden times in their wars and which came from Borneo". This appears to be the first reference to them in northern Luzon. Despite this, the Spaniards never faced any in their encounters in Luzon as they did in Mindanao. The Hindu inhabitants of Bali and Lombok, being the remnant of Majapahit hindus, are famous for their manufacture of matchlock. In 1800s Alfred Wallace saw two guns of their manufacture, 6 and 7 feet long, with proportionately large bore. The wooden stock is well made, extended to the front end of the barrel. The barrels were twisted and finished, with silver and gold ornament. For making the long barrel, the natives use 18 inch pieces of barrel which are first bored small, and then welded together upon a straight iron rod. The whole barrel is then worked with borers of gradually increasing size, and in three days the boring is finished. For firearms using flintlock mechanism, the inhabitants of Nusantara archipelago is reliant on Western powers, as no local smith could produce such complex component. These flintlock firearms are completely different weapon and were known by another name, senapan or senapang, from Dutch word snappaan. The gun-making areas of Nusantara could make these senapan, the barrel and the wooden part is made locally, but the mechanism is imported from the European colonist.
