Awaken or born by Cuiviénen?

[Galin]

As noted, although the Legend of the Awakening of the Quendi (Cuivienyarna) was said to be 'preserved in almost identical form among the Elves of Aman and the Sindar' its style and simple notions are meant to suggest an Elvish fairytale, or child's tale, mingled with counting lore. In it the 'Unbegotten' Elves number 144, and the Elf-fathers were Imin, Tata, and Enel (sc. One, Two, Three).


In an early work called The Lhammas (The History of Middle-Earth series Volume V), written in the 1930s it seems, it is noted:

'On the march to the West the Lindar went first, and the chief house among them was the house of Ingwe, high-king of the Eldalie, and the oldest of all Elves, for he first awoke.'

As the earlier version of the Silmarillion (Volume V) is essentially the same as the later version (Volume X) on this point, I'll quote the later one:

'Therefore Orome was sent again to them, and he chose from among them three ambassadors; and he brought them to Valmar. These were Ingwe and Finwe and Elwe, who after were kings of the Three Kindreds of the Eldar.'

Another tradition, The Annals of Aman, relates the following passage of time and a few other details. Orome finds the Elves after...

1085
'And when the Elves had dwelt in the world five and thirty years of the Valar (which is like unto three hundred and thirty-five of our years)...'

(But when Nahar neighed and Orome came among them some of the Quendi hid themselves, and some fled or were lost. Orome later comes back, and under the entry for 1102 he...)

'... chose from among them three ambassadors who should go to Valinor and speak for the people. And three only of the chieftains of the Quendi were willing to adventure the journey: Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe, who afterwards were kings'

And in The Grey Annals (or 'Annals of Beleriand'): Year 1102-5 'Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe were brought to Valinor by Orome as ambassadors of the Quendi....' In 1128 Finwe is called a lord of the Noldor, and Elwe a lord of the Teleri.

I note that the Annals of Aman contains the detail that three only of the chieftains were willing to go.

I'm not sure Cuivienyarna can be used so certainly to support a 'fact' of very ancient history. That said, if one rules out the 'fairytale' I'm not sure it necessarily follows that Ingwe, Finwe, or Elwe were of the Eru-begotten. And despite that these early Elves lived in the deep past of Elvish history, the Cuivienyarna has the effect (in any case) of making the Awakening of the Elves seem even more 'remote', in my opinion.