Spiders?

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Tolkien, Silm

There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made the first Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thoughts, and they were with him before aught else was made.

But if Ungoliant wasn't made?

I am the first to agree that this is very ambiguous, but not impossible. It exists not as something 'provable' or definite, but as an intangible suggestion. And it exists more probably also because of Tolkien's own interest in mythology.

There are many creation myths involving spiders or spiders as Tricksters--Anansi for example, from Africa. The intangible vagueness may simply represent the way in which Tolkien's imagination worked to incorporate his knowledge of mythology even while he was working within his own system of belief. Remember, we are not working with what we know of Tolkien's beliefs outside of the text; that can help us, but it does not in itself provide validation for what is in the created fantasy world. We are looking at the text and determining the values and system of belief within the subcreated world. References external to the text can be applicable, but they cannot by themselves exclude possibilities which the text might offer.