Vána (Quenya; IPA: [ˈvaːna] - "Beautiful One") is an Ainu and a Valië who was responsible for the preserving of the youth made for all life in Arda. Among the seven Valier, Vána was considered a rank of six of the Queens of the Valar.[1] She was known as Vána the Ever-Young.
Biography
Vána was the younger sister of Yavanna (Queen of the Earth) and the wife of Oromë (Huntsman of the Valar). In Vána's dwellings she had gardens filled with golden flowers; and often, Vána came to the forests of Oromë. Like her sister, the province of Vána was growing things of the world and she was a lover of nature. Vána had influence with the flora and fauna of Middle-earth, and she was associated especially with flowers thus Vána was also known as the "Queen of Flowers".[2]
It was said that when the Valar Tulkas & Nessa were wedded on the Isle of Almaren, the first dwelling of the Valar, Vána robed her sister-in-law Nessa the Swift (sister of Oromë) with her flowers.[3]
In the Days of the Two Trees of Valinor, Arien of the Maiar, before she came to carry the vessel of the Sun, had served Vána by tending to the golden flowers of Vána's gardens watering them with bright dews from the great golden Tree Laurelin.[4] Melian also was another Maia who initially served Vána before she departed for Middle-earth.[5]
After the Darkening of Valinor and the flight of the Noldor to Middle-Earth, most of the Valar were glad to have their ancient peace back, wishing neither the rumors of Melkor and his violence nor the murmur of the restless Noldor to come upon them again. Thus for such reasons, they clamored for the concealment of their land Aman. It was said that Vána was one among them.[6]
Character
According to The Silmarillion, "All flowers spring as Vána passes and opens if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming."[1] Vána robed herself in flowers and it was said that her hair was golden in color.[7] Vána had the beauty of both heaven and earth upon her face and in all her works.[8] Like Nessa, Vána also sang and danced along with her maidens.[2]
The Maiar of Vána
- Arien, the Maia who guided the Sun, was one of her Maiar in Valinor.
- Melian, who later in Middle-earth became Queen of Doriath by marrying the Elf-King Thingol.
Etymology
The name Vána may have been derived from the Quenya word vanima ("beautiful"), as she is often described as "fair".[9] Hence she was also known as Vána the Fair.
Other Versions of the Legendarium
Vána and her husband Oromë were once envisioned to have had a daughter named Nielíqui.[10]
In another material, Vána was the younger sister of Queen Varda and Yavanna.[2]
Vána played a formative role in the growth of great golden Tree Laurelin: "Then was the pit covered with rich earths that Palúrien (Yavanna) devised, and Vána came who loveth life and sunlight and at whose song the flowers arise and open, and the murmur of her maidens round her was like to the merry noise of the folk that stir abroad for the first time on a bright morning. There sang she the song of spring upon the mound, and danced about it, and watered it with great streams of that golden light that Ulmo (Lord of All Waters) had brought from the spilled lakes--as yet was Kulullin almost o'erflowing at that time.[10]
In earlier versions of The History of Middle-earth, Tolkien wrote that when the great Two Trees of Valinor were destroyed, Vána fell into inconsolable grief for her great love for the golden Tree Laurelin. Furthermore, Vána then attempted to gather what she could of the spilled light in order to rekindle the dead Tree Laurelin. Yet, as Vána clung to the dead trunk of Laurelin after all ministrations had failed to rekindle the tree, her tears finally coaxed forth a new golden shoot that bore one golden fruit. The Valar used this golden fruit to construct the Sun that Vána's maiden Urwen (Arien) would later lead across the sky. Then Vána, in repentance of her earlier doubts, cut short her golden hair to weave the sails of the Sun-ship.[7]
Gallery
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| File:Vana the ever young by steamey-d8bxbyn.jpg |
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Translations around the World
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Amharic | ቫና |
| Arabic | ڢانا ? |
| Armenian | Վանա |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Вана |
| Bengali | ভান |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Вана |
| Chinese | 威娜 |
| Dari | وانا |
| Georgian | ვანა |
| Greek | Βάνα |
| Gujarati | વન |
| Hindi | वन |
| Hebrew | ונה |
| Japanese | ヴァーナ |
| Kazakh Cyrillic | Вана |
| Korean | 바나 |
| Kurdish | ڤانا (Arabic script) Vana (Latin) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Вана |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Вана |
| Marathi | वन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Вана |
| Nepalese | वन |
| Pashto | وانا |
| Persian | وانا |
| Punjabi | ਵਨ |
| Russian | Вана |
| Sanskrit | वन |
| Serbian | вана (Cyrillic) Vána (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | වන |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Вана |
| Tamil | வந |
| Telugu | వన |
| Thai | วานา |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Вана |
| Urdu | وانا |
| Uyghur | ۋانا |
| Uzbek | Вана (Cyrillic) Vana (Latin) |
| Yiddish | בֿאַנאַ |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Silmarillion, Valaquenta, "Of the Valar"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Morgoth's Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, The First Phase: "Of the Valar"
- ↑ Morgoth's Ring, Annals of Aman, "The First Year of the Valar in Arda"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chap. XI: "The Tale of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Valaquenta, "Of the Maiar"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 2: The Book of Lost Tales 2, Chap. 3. "The Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Book of Lost Tales 1, Chapter XIII: "The Tale of the Sun and Moon"
- ↑ The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part II, Quenta Silmarillion: "Of the Valar", p.226
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 5: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 1: The Book of Lost Tales 1, Chap. III. "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor"