Kyawswa I of Pinya

Kyawswa I of Pinya ငါးစီးရှင် ကျော်စွာ
Kyawswa I depicted as the Nga-zi Shin nat (spirit)
King of Pinya
Reign	29 March 1344 – 12 December 1350
Predecessor	Sithu (as regent)
Successor	Kyawswa II
Viceroy of Pinle
Reign	c. February 1325 – 29 March 1344
Coronation	7 February 1313
Predecessor	himself (as governor)
Successor	Nawrahta (as governor)
Governor of Pinle
Reign	7 February 1313 – c. February 1325
Coronation	7 February 1313
Predecessor	Thihathu (as co-regent)
Successor	himself (as viceroy)
Born	1299 Monday, 661 ME Pinle, Myinsaing Regency
Died	12 December 1350 (aged 51) Sunday, 14th waxing of Pyatho 712 ME Pinya, Pinya Kingdom
Consort	Atula Sanda Dewi Mway Medaw
Issue among others...	Uzana II Kyawswa II Narathu
House	Myinsaing
Father	Thihathu
Mother	Mi Saw U
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Kyawswa I of Pinya (Burmese: ငါးစီးရှင် ကျော်စွာ, pronounced: [ŋázíʃɪ̀ɴ tɕɔ̀zwà]; lit. "Lord of Five White Elephants"; 1299–1350) was king of Pinya from 1344 to 1350. His six-year reign briefly restored unity in southern Upper Burma although his authority over his southernmost vassals remained largely nominal. He suddenly died in 1350, and came to be regarded as one of the major Burmese folk spirits, known as Nga-zi Shin Nat.

Born in 1299, Kyawswa was the elder son of Queen Mi Saw U of Pagan and Thihathu, Co-Regent of Myinsaing. He grew up at the Pinle Palace with his younger brother Nawrahta; three half-siblings Uzana, Saw Yun, and Saw Pale; and one stepbrother Tarabya. Kyawswa grew up as second in the line of succession after Uzana. (Eager to be seen as a legitimate successor to the Pagan line, Thihathu ranked his stepson Uzana, of Pagan royalty from both sides, first; and Kyawswa, of Pagan royalty the maternal side, second.)

On 7 February 1313, Kyawswa was appointed governor of Pinle by Thihathu who had become the sole ruler of Myinsaing, later known as the Pinya Kingdom. The governorship of his father's old fief was second only in importance behind Thihathu's appointment of Uzana as heir-apparent. (Thihathu's other children did not get any appointments.) While the governorship was likely a titular title in the beginning, by 1315, Kyawswa like Uzana was given command of his own military units (1000 shielded infantry, 80 cavalry, 10 elephants).

In 1316–17, Kyawswa became ensnared in palace succession intrigues. The king asked Kyawswa to retake Sagaing which Saw Yun had fortified after unsatisfied with what the prince perceived to be a second-class status. When Kyawswa got the order, Uzana had already tried, and failed. But Kyawswa's expedition too failed. The king seemed halfhearted about punishing Saw Yun, and did not mobilize all his forces. Uzana and Kyawswa had march with their own small army, separately. But when Toungoo (Taungoo) revolted in 1317, Thihathu asked both Uzana and Kyawswa with a combined army to march to Toungoo. The two brothers got Toungoo's ruler Thawun Nge to submit.