Language: Possibly from the Malay
Source: Dutch colonial sources

Description

Lila or lilla is the name for a type of cannon, often mounted as a swivel cannon, that was commonly used on vessels around the Malay archipelago. According to Gardner, writing in 1934, it was named after the heroine in the popular story Layla and Majnun.

Two lila, captured by the Dutch around Java before 1667.
Rijksmuseum accession numbers NG-MC-1103 and NG-NM-9765.

Lila in the Rijksmuseum collection, accession number NG-MC-1105.
Captured from pirates near Tanjung Pulisan on the north-eastern tip of Celebes. April 1856.
Barrel thought to be of Borneo make.

Notes
1. C. J. Smits; Gedenkboek van het Koninklijk-Militair Invalidenhuis Bronbeek. P. Gouda Quint, Arnhem, 1881. Page 6.
2. G.B. Gardner; Keris and other Malay weapons, Progressive Publishing Company, Singapore, 1936.