The Fire Piston and It's Origin in Europe

European Version of Fire Piston. image: 101waystosurvive.com

In previous accounts of the ingenious fire-making device known as the fire piston, anthropologists and historians of technology have focused primarily on specimens found in use across Southeast Asia over the past century. This has led to the intriguing possibility that the device was independently invented in the region, without European influence, and possibly long before the 1860s, when European travelers first documented its existence there.

The fire piston was originally invented over 1,500 years ago in the areas of Dipag and Sembuangan—now Dipolog City in modern-day Zamboanga del Norte, on the island of Mindanao, Philippines—by a Subanen teenager named Anlangan”. Read more here

Primitive / Original Asian version of Fire Piston - image: oscarsbows.com

As a result, scholars have generally regarded the fire piston's emergence in Europe during the early nineteenth century as either the product of an independent—though arguably less compelling—process of invention in the West or as a direct import from Asia, particularly the ancient kingdoms now called the Philippines, where the device was already in common use. While such accounts have been valuable in preventing the fire piston from falling into obscurity, they have presented an incomplete history—neglecting the European adaptation of the instrument—and have relied on insufficient evidence for certain key aspects of its development.. – Robert Fox

Dr. Robert Fox, lecturer in the history of Science at the university of Lancaster, is the author of forthcoming book on the caloric theory of gases.

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Subanons hold three rallies to demand ancestral domain titles ZamboEcoZone

The claim has been opposed by the Zamboanga Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (ZamboEcozone) because it said the area was granted to the agency under a presidential proclamation issued in 1997. Because of ZamboEcozone’s opposition, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has stopped the processing of the Subanons’ claim until the conflict shall have been resolved, NCIP executive director Rosalina Bistoryong said in a recent memorandum to the local agency’s office.

The Subanons were joined by some Muslim and Christian residents living in the three barangays to express their support for the tribesmen’s demand.

With most of them wearing their native costumes, the protesters first stopped at the ZamboEcozone office in San Ramon and afterwards proceeded to the NICP office to voice their sentiments to the officials of the two government organizations. The city government has also conveyed last month to NCIP its opposition to the same claim.

But several timuays interviewed by Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ) said under the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA), the estimated 2,500 Subanon families who now occupy the upland areas in the three barangays should be granted the ancestral domain title since they possess a native title to the land. The IPRA, which was enacted in 1997, says that natives whose ancestors have occupied a land even before the pre-Spanish regime possess a native title to the area. The same law says that any land that is covered by a native title may be considered as public land.

Rural-Urban Missionaries (RUM) executive director Priscilla Saladaga, whose non-government organization has been assisting the Subanons prepare the documents related to the claim, said pre-historic archeological artifacts, the families’ ancient genealogies, the extant Subanon names given to mountains, rivers, trees and other landmarks plus other existing evidences support the “native title” claim of the families. RUM is a local Church-based civil society group operating only in Western Mindanao with a special apostolate for the indigenous peoples.

The Subanons in Labuan filed their initial petition for the same land in the same year of 1997 when the IPRA law was enacted by Congress, the timuays said. But complicated procedures and requirements have hindered the processing of the claim, Saladaga said.

NCIP Zamboanga sub-office head Engr. Humphrey Hamoy told PAZ that his office also supports the Subanons’ demand. He said the opposition by ZamboEcozone should not stop his office from proceeding with the perimeter survey that is the next step in determining the validity of the claim.

Most of the Subanon families cultivate the upland areas as kaingin farmers, growing various crops they sell in the city. Anthropological records in government archives show that their ancestors started inhabiting the Zamboaga Peninsula as early as 1,500 years ago.

NCIP has issued ancestral domain titles to other Subanon communities in Zamboaga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay provinces, Engr. Hamoy said. Rey-Luis Banagudos/PAZ Press Release

The First Discovery of "Luthang Gapuyan" ( Fire Piston ) and its history over 1500 years ago

Anlangan 17 years old boy accidentally invented the first "Fire Piston" locally named “Luthang Gapuyan” over 1500 years ago

Over 1,500 years ago, a 17-year-old Subanen boy named Anlangan accidentally invented the first fire piston, locally known as “Luthang Gapuyan.” Although little is known about its origins, the device was widely used by thousands.

The discovery of the fire piston was purely accidental, yet it became a significant invention in world history. According to a tale passed down through generations, Anlangan created the fire piston while crafting a wooden toy magazine, replacing bamboo materials with hardwood to improve durability.

One afternoon, Anlangan’s parents tasked him with preparing a portion of the mountain for kaingin (slash-and-burn farming) in anticipation of the upcoming Panuig (planting season). As he made his way to the site, rain suddenly fell, forcing him to return home. While waiting for the rain to stop, he played with his “luthang” (bamboo magazine) alongside his younger brother. When the barrel of his bamboo toy broke from repeated use, he decided to craft a sturdier version from hardwood.

While boring a hole into the hardwood to form the barrel, he polished its inner surface using another piece of hardwood. As he pushed and pulled the wooden stick inside the hole, he was startled to see smoke and, eventually, fire emerging from the barrel.

Realizing the potential of his discovery, he abandoned his wooden toy idea and carved the device into a more functional shape, tying it with an abaca rope and wearing it proudly. He informed his father about his invention, and his family became the first to use the fire piston for their kaingin farming.

Over time, the “Luthang Gapuyan” became a common tool among the Subanen people and was traded with visiting merchants from Cebu and Sulu. The invention eventually spread throughout the Mindanao Island and the Malayan Pacific Islands now called the Philippines and beyond—to neighboring islands now called Malaysia, Indonesia, and Europe—marking its place in history as an important technological innovation.

This image is for demonstration purposes only and does not depict the actual Luthang Gapuyan from Mindanao.

A southeast Asian native old woman is using Luthang Gapuyan (Fire piston)