"At Lake Cuiviénen", by Ted Nasmith
The Awakening of the Elves occurred around 450 Valian years before the first rising of the Sun, at the shores of Cuiviénen in the far east of Middle-earth.
Legend[]
- The canonicity of these details is unconfirmed.
According to a legend of the Elves, the first Elves were awakened by Eru Ilúvatar near the bay of Cuiviénen. The first Elf to awake was called Imin ("First"). Next to him lay Iminyë, who would become his wife. Near where Imin woke, awoke Tata ("Second") and Tatië, and Enel ("Third") and Enelyë.
Imin, Tata, and Enel and their wives joined and walked through the forests. They first came across six pairs of Elves, and Imin, as eldest, claimed them as his people, and woke them. After a short time Imin and his people, together with Tata and Enel, continued their journey. Next, they came across nine pairs of Elves, and Tata as second eldest, claimed them as his people. After a short time the now thirty-six Elves continued their journey. Then they found twelve pairs of Elves, and Enel, as third eldest, claimed them as his people.
"Elves Awake in Cuivienen under the Stars" by Sepi Donne
For many days the now sixty Elves dwelt by the rivers, and they began to invent poetry and music. When they set out again, Imin thought to himself that since each time they had found more Elves and his folk was least in size, he would now choose last.
They came across eighteen pairs of Elves watching the stars, and Tata and Enel waited for Imin to claim them for his people, but Imin told them he would wait, so Tata added them to his folk. They were tall and had dark hair, and they were the fathers of most of the Ñoldor of later times.
The ninety-six Elves now spoke with each other and invented many new words, but then they continued their journey. Next they found twenty-four pairs of Elves, who were singing without language, and again Imin was offered the choice, but refused. Therefore Enel chose them as his people, and from them came most of the Lindar or singers of later times.
And the hundred and forty-four Elves now dwelt long together, until all had learned the same language, and they were glad. But then Imin said it was time to seek more companions for him, but most of the others were content and did not join him. So Imin and Iminyë and their twelve companions set out alone, and they searched long near Cuiviénen, but never found any more companions.
Because all Elves had been found in groups of twelve, twelve became the number they counted with ever after, and 144 was for long their highest number, and in none of their later tongues was there therefore any common name for a greater number.
Melkor was the first to learn of the Awakening. He soon began sending evil spirits among the Elves, who planted seeds of doubt against the Valar. It is also rumoured that some of the Elves were being captured by a Rider if they strayed too far, and the Elves later believed these were brought to Utumno and twisted into Orcs by torture and the evils of Melkor.
Oromë, one of the Valar, one day found the Elves and realized who they were. The Elves were suspicious of him first, fearing he was the Rider who captured them, and because of Melkor's lies. Nevertheless, three lords of the Elves agreed to come with Oromë to Valinor. These were Ingwë of the Minyar (later Vanyar), Finwë of the Tatyar (later Ñoldor), and Elwë of the Lindar. In due time, Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë returned to Cuiviénen, and told the Elves of the glory of Valinor, and there befell the Sundering of the Elves. All the Minyar and half of the Tatyar were persuaded, along with most of the Lindar, and followed Oromë into the west on the Great Journey. These have been known ever since by the name Eldar, or "Star-folk", which Oromë gave to them in their own language. The remainder of the Tatyar and Lindar remained suspicious, or simply refused to depart from their own lands, and spread gradually throughout the wide lands of Middle-earth. They were after known by the name Avari, meaning 'the Unwilling', because they refused the summons, in Quenya, the language of the Eldar that eventually reached Valinor.
The tale of Imin, Tata and Enel, known as Cuivienyarna, was a very late writing by Tolkien, written as part of Quendi and Eldar. They replaced Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë as the eldest Elves, who now merely became the first ambassadors and the Kings of the Elves in exile.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Ontwaking van die Elwe |
| Amharic | የኤልቭስ መነቃቃት |
| Albanian | Zgjimi të Kukudhët |
| Arabic | صحو ه الجان |
| Armenian | Էլֆերի զարթոնքը |
| Assamese | এলফসকলৰ এৱেকেনিং |
| Azerbaijani | Elflərin yüksək kralı |
| Basque | Elfoak esnatzen |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Абуджэнне эльфаў |
| Bengali | এলভস জাগরণ |
| Bosnian | Buđenje Vilenjaka / Rodubijanja Vilenjaka |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Пробуждането на Елфите |
| Catalan | Despertar dels elfs |
| Chinese | 精靈甦醒 |
| Corsican | U despertu di l'Elfini |
| Croatian | Buđenje vilenjaka |
| Czech | Probuzení elfů |
| Danish | Elverfolkets opvågnen |
| Dutch | Ontwaken van de Elfen |
| Esperanto | Vekiĝo de la Elfoj |
| Estonian | Haldjate ärkamine |
| Faroese | Álvurnir vakna |
| Filipino | Paggising ng ang mga Duwende |
| French | Réveil des elfes |
| Galician | Despertar dos Elfos |
| Georgian | ელფები გამოღვიძება |
| German | Erwachen der Elben |
| Greek | Αφύπνιση των Ξωτικά |
| Gujarati | ઝનુન જાગૃતિ |
| Hebrew | אלפים התעוררות |
| Hindi | कल्पित बौने का जागरण |
| Hungarian | A tündék ébredése |
| Icelandic | Álfar vakning |
| Indonesian | Kebangunan peri-peri |
| Irish Gaelic | Dúiseacht de na sióga |
| Italian | Risveglio degli Elfi |
| Japanese | の目覚めエルフに |
| Kannada | ಎಲ್ವೆಸ್ ಜಾಗೃತಿ |
| Kazakh | Эльфтердің оятуы (Cyrillic) Élfterdiñ oyatwı (Latin) |
| Konkani | एल्फांचें जागृताय करप |
| Korean | 엘프들의 각성 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Эльфтердин ойгонушу |
| Latvian | Elfi atmoda |
| Lithuanian | Elfai prabudimas |
| Luxembourgish | Erwächen vun den Elfen |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Будење на Елфите |
| Malayalam | എൽവ്സിന്റെ ഉണർവ് |
| Malaysian | Bunian kebangkitan |
| Marathi | एल्व्हसचे प्रबोधन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Элфүүдийн сэрэх байдал |
| Nepalese | एल्व्स उठ्दै |
| Norwegian | Elvenes oppvåkning |
| Pashto | د یلوس بیداری |
| Persian | بیداری الف ها |
| Polish | Przebudzenia z Elfów |
| Portuguese | Despertar dos Elfos |
| Punjabi | ਕਲੀਨਜ਼ ਜਗਾਉਣ |
| Romanian | Trezirea elfilor |
| Russian | Пробуждение эльфов |
| Scottish Gaelic | Dùsgadh nan de sìthichean |
| Serbian | Буђење вилењаци (Cyrillic) Buđenje vilenjaci (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | එල්ව්ස්ග පිබිදීමක් |
| Slovak | Prebudenie elfov |
| Slovenian | Prebujanje vilinov |
| Spanish | Despertar de los Elfos |
| Swedish | Älvor uppvaknande |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Бедоршавии елв |
| Tamil | எல்வ்ஸ் இன் விழிப்பு |
| Tatar | Элвесның уянуы |
| Telugu | ఎల్వ్స్ మేల్కొలుపు |
| Thai | การตื่นขึ้นของเหล่าเอลฟ์ |
| Turkish | Elflerin Uyanışı |
| Turkmen | Elwesiň oýanmagy |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Пробудження ельфів |
| Urdu | یلوس کی بیداری |
| Uzbek | Елфларнинг уйғониши (Cyrillic) Elflarning uyg'onishi (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Thức tỉnh của Kẻ tinh nghịch |
| Welsh | Deffroad o'r Elfenau |
| Yiddish | אַוואַקענינג פון די עלווז |