ဗာလည်ကွေး/balanykwe
ဗာလည်ကွေး/balanykwe was an armor that was worn in the area around the front of the shoulders to secure the tunic underneath for the armies of different countries: Burmese, Mon, Thai and Shan. Its exact origins are unsure.
This post focuses more basing on the information from Burmese sources of which I found.
The pronunciation, according to the Burmese wiki: (balanykwe:) Its also called as ပါလည်ကွေး. The last two words လည်ကွေး means neckwear while the first word ဗာ could have been added from the Mon language. The usage of such amor made with leather in Burmese armies were recorded from the Pinya Period (14th century) to the Konbaung Era(last dynasty). Assuming so, the usage during the time of Pinya Kingdom falls directly into place during one of Burma's most turbulent peroids in history when many small kingdoms had power struggles and numerous wars (of which a major war was the 40 years between Hanthawaddy Kingdom and Ava Kingdom) war under the shadow of the fallen Pagan/Bagan Kingdom.
These are statues of King Saw Yun of Sagaing Kingdom(which was roughly around the same time as the Pinya Kingdom), King Razadarit of Hanthwaddy Kingdom, King Bayinnaung from Toungoo Empire.
The Balanykwe was made with leather and was used as a protection until ammunition began to be used in battlefield as the Balanykwe wasn't able to protect the person from bullets.
It didn't stop the usage though. There are depictions and photos of generals wearing the Blanykwe into the Konbaung period, long after ammunition were introduced to warfare in Burma.
A noted difference of such Balanykwe in Burma was that it had more 'spike' wings compared to its other counterparts and were more extravagant. For example, in the thai variant of the same piece, there are not as much multiple wings.
In addition to warfare, it was long used by burmese royals as part of the states robes for both men and women.
It was especially used by both queens and princesses in the Konbaung Dynasty.
Worn by Burmese Princesses
And notably by Supayalat(last chief queen consort of Burma, queen to her half-brother Thibaw).
In addition to the Burmese, it was also worn by the Shan Sawbwas in a similar style.
Additionally, it became a part of Burmese theatrical costumes.
Likewise, it also appears on Burmese Traditional Marionettes.
