The Seri Rambai is a 17th-century Dutch cannon displayed at Fort Cornwallis in George Town, the

capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest
bronze gun in Malaysia, largely seen as a fertility symbol and the subject of legends and prophecy.

The cannon's history in the Malacca Straits began in the early 1600s when Dutch East India
Company (VOC) officers gave it to the Sultan of Johor in return for trading concessions. Less than a
decade later Johor was destroyed, the sultan captured and the Seri Rambai taken to Aceh. Near the
end of the eighteenth century the cannon was sent to Selangor and mounted next to one of the
town's hilltop forts. In 1871 pirates seized a Penang junk, murdered its passengers and crew, and
took the stolen vessel to Selangor. The British colonial government responded by burning the town,
destroying its forts and confiscating the Seri Rambai.

The gun was originally displayed at George Town's Esplanade; in the 1950s it was moved a short
distance away to the ramparts of Fort Cornwallis.

Southeast Asia abounds with tales of historic cannon: many are said to be imbued with supernatural
powers; some are revered for their cultural and spiritual significance; others are notable for having
been present at defining moments in the region's history.[1] Burma's Glass Palace Chronicle recounts
a story about the Burmese-Siamese war (17651767) that illustrates the divine properties ascribed
to certain cannon. After attempts to repel Burmese attacks on the Siamese capital had proved
unsuccessful, the King of Siam ordered that the city's guardian spirit, a great cannon
called Dwarawadi, be used to halt the advance. The gun was ceremoniously hoisted and aimed at
the enemy's camp, but the powder failed to ignite. Fearing the guardian of the city had abandoned
them, the king's officials implored their sovereign to surrender.[2][a]

One of Jakarta's best known fertility symbols is the Si Jagur, a Portuguese cannon exhibited next to
the city's History Museum.[4] Aldous Huxley described the gun as a "prostrate God" that women
caressed, sat astride and prayed to for children. [5] Near the entrance to Thailand's Ministry of
Defence building in Bangkok is a cannon known as the Phaya Tani, an enormous gun captured from
the Sultanate of Pattani in 1785.[6] The cannon is a symbol of cultural identity in Pattani and the
profound sense of loss caused by its seizure is still felt today: when Bangkok refused to return the
gun and in 2013 sent a replica instead, suspected insurgents bombed it nine days later.[7]

The Seri Rambai is a Dutch cannon displayed on the ramparts of Fort Cornwallis in George Town,
the capital city of Penang and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[8] Two articles about the cannon have
been published in the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The first was a
brief summary of the gun's history in the Malacca Straits; the second a detailed study researched
by Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill, a former director of Singapore's National Museum and president of
the city-state's Photographic Society.[9] Newspapers have also discussed the cannon: in 2013
the Sunday Times began a feature about Penang with the comment "Cannons don't often have
names, but the Seri Rambai, on the walls of Fort Cornwallis, is something rather special". [8]

The Seri Rambai is a 28-pounder, 127.5 inches (3.25 m) long with a calibre of 6.1 inches; (15 cm);
the barrel measures 118.75 inches; (3.02 m). It was cast in 1603 and is the largest bronze gun in
Malaysia. In front of the dolphin handles is a decorative band featuring three pairs of heraldic
lions with long, spiralling tails. Each pair faces a vase containing flowers. Between the handles and
the Dutch East India Company's seal is a Javi inscription, inlaid with silver, celebrating the gun's
capture in 1613. The base ring is incised with the gunsmith's signature and date of manufacture. [10][b][c]