- Joined
- Aug 15, 2000
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- 2,330
Reading about the homemade fireworks recently prompted me to ask around for information on traditional malaysian fireworks. I'm not sure how long these have been around but they have been in play for many generations of Malaysians. The words are not mine - this guy explains it far better than yours truly - i have added some translations where necessary. Enjoy...
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howdy there, when talking about meriam buluh (Bamboo Cannon), two things come in mind: one, meriam buluh as in the meriam itself (i.e. "the plaything"), and two, meriam buluh as in a generic class of such playthings. the first kind refers to the one that is most familiar and most common to us, which is the one that is actually made out of buluh; the second one refers to anything homemade that explodes cannon-like -- there are meriam tanah ("Earth Cannon"), meriam kelapa ("Coconut Cannon") and meriam katak ("Frog Cannon").
All of these are also referred to as "meriam buluh", especially by the kampung folks, although they are not in any way similar mechanically. its history is a but fuzzy, so, in that department, i am sorry, but i cannot help you, andrew. i will talk about the types of meriam buluh later; for now, i am going to explain the one thing that connects all the above types of meriam buluh: its explosive, the "karbaid". the karbaid, as known in malay, is actually calcium carbide; dry, black, irregular lumps of solid that decomposes easily in room temperature, and reacts actively with water to produce acetylene vapor and hydrated lime. in the meriam buluh chamber, the highly explosive acetylene vapor is ignited using fire from safety matches or a pelita ("oil lamp").
CaC2(s) + 2H2O(l) --> C2H2(g) + Ca(OH)2(aq) [calcium carbide (solid)] + [water (liquid)] --> [acetylene (vapor)] + [calcium hydroxide (liquid)]
Acetylene is a flammable gas that is used in industrial blowtorchs and powerful searchlights in the usa; a good source of 'hot' flame because it is clean, although much costly than propane. a few decades ago in malaysia, karbaid is sold dirt cheap in the farmer's market, especially in the rural/plantation area, as a homogenising agent for the process of artificial ripening of tropical fruits, especially banana. however, recent research shows that there might be hazardous health effects from this artificial ripening process of the fruits; thus many countries have stopped using karbaid, or even banned it totally from the industry. whether or not it is so now in malaysia, i am not sure.
my personal experience with the meriam buluh started when i was ten or so in my kampung at sungai air tawar, sabak bernam, selangor; me, my kid brother and an uncle of ours built a medium-sized meriam tanah (we were yet to be skilled in playing meriam buluh) in front of our grandfather's house, next to the kampung bridge. we got the karbaid from our grandfather, he planted banana and cocoa at the time; it was easy for him to get it, and we had plenty to last all throughout that year's Ramadhan/Syawal.
meriam buluh is the original framework for everything else that came out later. made entirely out of buluh ("Bamboo"), its mouth is tilted upward so that the acetylene vapor, which is heavier (vapor density: 2.2) compared to air (vapor density: 1.0), fills up the bottom part of the meriam, which acts as the ignition chamber, and not easily escape. the meriam expert, like my uncle, he knows the details for the juiciest explosion: how much water is needed to wet the karbaid (depends on the amount, clump size, reactivity of material), he knows how long to wait before igniting the meriam (if too quick, a "wet" explosion; if too long, the vapor might have leaked away), he knows how many rounds the meriam can take before it finally breaks apart (depends on the strength of the buluh and the rubber tubes) and sends sharp buluh shrapnel all over the place.
meriam kelapa ("Coconut Cannon") is a monstrous beast. unlike meriam buluh, meriam kelapa is made from the center wood of a mature coconut tree; hence its name, meriam "batang" kelapa. that is the only difference between the two, its material. the work of making a meriam kelapa takes a crew of at least five strong and dedicated young men. the last time i saw a meriam kelapa in the making and in action was when i was 13; the batang kelapa had to be sawed open right through its middle line, and then it had to be made hollow -- all of these were done using the most basic woodworking tools, no big machines, no technical assistance. according to my grandfather, when he was a young man, each kampung in the sabak bernam area had their own meriam batang kelapa and they would usually put it in the kampung's surau/mosque area; the meriam batang kelapa was a proud tradition. during the fasting month, whenever it is time to wake up to the pre-dawn meal ("sahur") and prayer, the meriam would be sounded.
meriam tanah ("Earth Cannon") is the most safe of all, its explosion is absorbed by the soil/dirt surrounding it. although not the loudest, the meriam tanah is the one that is felt most when it explodes; unlike meriam buluh and meriam kelapa, meriam tanah does not need a strong material to be its body. it is basically a hole in the ground that you cover up with a thick heavy wooden plank and on top of that plank, you place bricks, which amount you adjust to the strength of the karbaid. it has a small trapdoor where you insert the karbaid, unlike meriam buluh and meriam kelapa where you have to insert the karbaid and the water from the mouth of the 'cannon'. to make sure that the acetylene vapor does not leak away through the pores/holes of the meriam, kids often apply mud to the bricks. if it is constructed well and the karbaid is good, meriam tanah is as good.
The final one, meriam katak ("Frog Cannon"), the easiest to make and also the most dangerous (i.e. unpredictable) of the "meriam buluh". the direction of the explosion is upward; meriam katak is known (from my experience) to be able to jump as high as a 2-storey building. It is more fun to watch the meriam explode than to actually operate or ignite it.
[YBLalat]
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howdy there, when talking about meriam buluh (Bamboo Cannon), two things come in mind: one, meriam buluh as in the meriam itself (i.e. "the plaything"), and two, meriam buluh as in a generic class of such playthings. the first kind refers to the one that is most familiar and most common to us, which is the one that is actually made out of buluh; the second one refers to anything homemade that explodes cannon-like -- there are meriam tanah ("Earth Cannon"), meriam kelapa ("Coconut Cannon") and meriam katak ("Frog Cannon").
All of these are also referred to as "meriam buluh", especially by the kampung folks, although they are not in any way similar mechanically. its history is a but fuzzy, so, in that department, i am sorry, but i cannot help you, andrew. i will talk about the types of meriam buluh later; for now, i am going to explain the one thing that connects all the above types of meriam buluh: its explosive, the "karbaid". the karbaid, as known in malay, is actually calcium carbide; dry, black, irregular lumps of solid that decomposes easily in room temperature, and reacts actively with water to produce acetylene vapor and hydrated lime. in the meriam buluh chamber, the highly explosive acetylene vapor is ignited using fire from safety matches or a pelita ("oil lamp").
CaC2(s) + 2H2O(l) --> C2H2(g) + Ca(OH)2(aq) [calcium carbide (solid)] + [water (liquid)] --> [acetylene (vapor)] + [calcium hydroxide (liquid)]
Acetylene is a flammable gas that is used in industrial blowtorchs and powerful searchlights in the usa; a good source of 'hot' flame because it is clean, although much costly than propane. a few decades ago in malaysia, karbaid is sold dirt cheap in the farmer's market, especially in the rural/plantation area, as a homogenising agent for the process of artificial ripening of tropical fruits, especially banana. however, recent research shows that there might be hazardous health effects from this artificial ripening process of the fruits; thus many countries have stopped using karbaid, or even banned it totally from the industry. whether or not it is so now in malaysia, i am not sure.
my personal experience with the meriam buluh started when i was ten or so in my kampung at sungai air tawar, sabak bernam, selangor; me, my kid brother and an uncle of ours built a medium-sized meriam tanah (we were yet to be skilled in playing meriam buluh) in front of our grandfather's house, next to the kampung bridge. we got the karbaid from our grandfather, he planted banana and cocoa at the time; it was easy for him to get it, and we had plenty to last all throughout that year's Ramadhan/Syawal.
meriam buluh is the original framework for everything else that came out later. made entirely out of buluh ("Bamboo"), its mouth is tilted upward so that the acetylene vapor, which is heavier (vapor density: 2.2) compared to air (vapor density: 1.0), fills up the bottom part of the meriam, which acts as the ignition chamber, and not easily escape. the meriam expert, like my uncle, he knows the details for the juiciest explosion: how much water is needed to wet the karbaid (depends on the amount, clump size, reactivity of material), he knows how long to wait before igniting the meriam (if too quick, a "wet" explosion; if too long, the vapor might have leaked away), he knows how many rounds the meriam can take before it finally breaks apart (depends on the strength of the buluh and the rubber tubes) and sends sharp buluh shrapnel all over the place.
meriam kelapa ("Coconut Cannon") is a monstrous beast. unlike meriam buluh, meriam kelapa is made from the center wood of a mature coconut tree; hence its name, meriam "batang" kelapa. that is the only difference between the two, its material. the work of making a meriam kelapa takes a crew of at least five strong and dedicated young men. the last time i saw a meriam kelapa in the making and in action was when i was 13; the batang kelapa had to be sawed open right through its middle line, and then it had to be made hollow -- all of these were done using the most basic woodworking tools, no big machines, no technical assistance. according to my grandfather, when he was a young man, each kampung in the sabak bernam area had their own meriam batang kelapa and they would usually put it in the kampung's surau/mosque area; the meriam batang kelapa was a proud tradition. during the fasting month, whenever it is time to wake up to the pre-dawn meal ("sahur") and prayer, the meriam would be sounded.
meriam tanah ("Earth Cannon") is the most safe of all, its explosion is absorbed by the soil/dirt surrounding it. although not the loudest, the meriam tanah is the one that is felt most when it explodes; unlike meriam buluh and meriam kelapa, meriam tanah does not need a strong material to be its body. it is basically a hole in the ground that you cover up with a thick heavy wooden plank and on top of that plank, you place bricks, which amount you adjust to the strength of the karbaid. it has a small trapdoor where you insert the karbaid, unlike meriam buluh and meriam kelapa where you have to insert the karbaid and the water from the mouth of the 'cannon'. to make sure that the acetylene vapor does not leak away through the pores/holes of the meriam, kids often apply mud to the bricks. if it is constructed well and the karbaid is good, meriam tanah is as good.
The final one, meriam katak ("Frog Cannon"), the easiest to make and also the most dangerous (i.e. unpredictable) of the "meriam buluh". the direction of the explosion is upward; meriam katak is known (from my experience) to be able to jump as high as a 2-storey building. It is more fun to watch the meriam explode than to actually operate or ignite it.
[YBLalat]
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