Shin Saw Gyi (Burmese: ရှင်စောကြီး, pronounced[ʃɪ̀ɴsɔ́dʑí]) was a chief queen consort of King Swa Saw Ke of Ava. She was also a principal queen of kings Kyawswa II of Pinya[1] and Narathu of Pinya.[2] She was a granddaughter of King Saw Yun, the founder of Sagaing Kingdom, and a sister of King Thado Minbya, the founder of Ava Kingdom. She was originally a queen consort of Swa, and was given the title of Queen of the Northern Palace and Pinya in fief. She became the chief queen after Queen Khame Mi died, and became the Queen of the Southern Palace.[3][note 3]
The queen may also be the mother of King Tarabya, the successor of Swa. The Yazawin Thit chronicle, citing a contemporary inscription, states that Tarabya was also a child of Shin Saw Gyi. But the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle rejects it anyway, saying that it was contrary to the reporting by previous chronicles.[4]Hmannan recognizes only two children by her, Saw Myat Ke[note 4] and Saw Swe Hnit.[5]
Ancestry
The following is her ancestry according to Hmannan. She was descended from Pagan and Pinya royalty. Her paternal side is unreported except that her father was of the Tagaung royal line.[6]
^(Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 435): She was still alive in 763 ME (1401/02) according to a contemporary inscription.
^Chronicles (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 392) say that her father's title was Thado Hsinhtein. According to an inscription dedicated on 26 June 1398 (Wednesday, 12th waxing of Waso 760 ME) per (Taw, Frorchhammer 1899: 164), her father's name is Athincha, Governor of Sagaing.
^Per inscriptional evidence, Khame Mi was still alive on 18 December 1387 (Wed, 10th waxing of Pyatho 749 ME) per (Taw, Forchhammer 1899: 152), and Shin Saw Gyi was mentioned as the chief queen on 13 June 1398 (Wed, 12th waxing of Waso 760 ME) per (Taw, Forchhammer 1899: 164)
^(Taw, Frorchhammer 1899: 164): Saw Myat Ke died in 1398 for whom the king and the queen dedicated a monastery near Tada-U on 26 June 1398.
