Andrew and His Meriam Buluh

From: "Limsk"
To: "YBLalat"
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 19:37:32 +0800 (GMT)
Subject: Meriam Buluh

Hi there,
I have been searching the web for information about the uniquely Malaysian invention called "meriam buluh" that has been in play for generations, when I came across your blog. Would you enlighten me as to how it works? Purely for information purposes and to set down some traditional history.

Thanks very much.
[Andrew Limsk]

*****

From: "YBLalat"
To: "Limsk"
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 17:02:37 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Meriam Buluh

Howdy there,

When talking about meriam buluh, 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, meriam kelapa and meriam katak. All of these are also referred to as "meriam buluh", especially by the kampong folks, although they are not similar mechanically. Its history is a bit fuzzy; so, I am sorry, but I cannot help you in that, Andrew.

I'll talk about the types of meriam buluh later; for now, I'll explain a bit about the common denominator: 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 simple pelita. The chemical reaction is as follows:

CaC₂(s) + 2H₂O(l) --> C₂H₂(g) + Ca(OH)₂(aq)

Calcium carbide (solid) + Water (aqueous) --> Acetylene (vapor) + Calcium hydroxide (aqueous)

Acetylene is a flammable gas that is used in industrial blowtorches 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 homogenizing 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 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 dad's kampong 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 kampong 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 of karbaid to last all throughout that year's Ramadan/Syawal.

Meriam buluh is the original framework for everything else that came out later. Made entirely out of buluh, its mouth is tilted upward (45 degrees) 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. Filling up the bottom part of the meriam first is important in order to get a strong, full blast. 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 and sends sharp buluh shrapnel all over the place (depends on the strength of the buluh and the rubber tubes).

Kids nowadays, due to the scarcity of buluh in the urban area, they prefer to use corrugated pipe, which is easily obtained around the household or from the plumber's outlet store. However, note that this is a dangerous selection for the body of the meriam, because the commercial corrugated pipe tube is a hard and brittle material, which if explode will burst violently like a nail-bomb; its shrapnel are sharp and hard and of cluster-size, possibly very fatal if the meriam operator were to stand too close to the meriam when it goes off.

Meriam kelapa 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 a few 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 kampong in the Sabak Bernam area had their own meriam batang kelapa and they would usually put it in the kampong's surau/mosque area; the meriam batang kelapa was a proud tradition. During the fasting month, when it is time to wake up to the pre-dawn meal ("sahur") and prayer, the meriam would be ignited. Just imagine the meriam kelapa of many kampongs all at once at dawn.

You cannot say that you have lived your life to the fullest if you have never witnessed firsthand the shockwave that the meriam kelapa sends radially to surrounding area; once, I had the chance to be close enough to a meriam kelapa in action, despite the warnings from mygranddad, and witnessed how the meriam shockwave threw a parked motorbike onto the ground, flat. In a way, meriam kelapa is the more dangerous of today's many extreme sports.

Meriam tanah 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 for 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 layers of bricks, which amount you adjust to the strength of the karbaid. It has a small trapdoor where you insert the karbaid already wetted in a tin cup, unlike meriam buluh and meriam kelapa where you have to insert the karbaid and the water separately 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 and wet sand to the cracks. If it is constructed well and the karbaid is strong, meriam tanah is as good as any meriam.

The final one, the meriam katak, is the easiest to make and also the most dangerous (i.e. unpredictable) of all the "meriam buluh". The direction of the explosion is usually upward, although it is known to jump to the sides; meriam katak is known (from my experience) to be able to jump as high as a 2-storey building. It is more fun to just watch the meriam explode than to actually operate it or ignite it.

I wish to add that I am not the sole authority on the subject, although I must admit that I played quite a lot of meriam buluh, of all sorts, back when I was the adventurous kampong boy. The experience from those younger days and the knowledge in chemistry, physics and material science from my college studies, combined with a little bit of Internet know-how and a good sense of logic, here I present to you the inner workings and the wonders of my most favorite toy.

Like my uncle once said, "it takes a boy to make a meriam, but a man to ignite it."

Good luck with your paper, Andrew, and remember to have fun.
[YBLalat]