Vána

Vána (Quenya; IPA: - "Beautiful One") was 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 the sixth in importance.The Silmarillion, Valaquenta, "Of the Valar" She was the sister of Yavanna and wife of Oromë and was possibly related to Melian. 
==Biography==
Vána was the younger sister of Yavanna (Queen of the Earth) and the wife of Oromë (Huntsman of the Valar). In her dwellings she had gardens filled with golden flowers, and she frequently 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".The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, The First Phase: "Of the Valar"
It was said that when the Valar Tulkas and Nessa were wedded on the Isle of Almaren, the first dwelling of the Valar, Vána robed her sister-in-law with her flowers.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, Annals of Aman, "The First Year of the Valar in Arda"
In the days of the Two Trees of Valinor, Arien of the Maiar had served Vána by tending to the golden flowers of her gardens, watering them with bright dews from Laurelin.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. XI: "Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor" Melian initially served Vána before departing for Middle-earth.The Silmarillion, Valaquenta, "Of the Maiar"
After the Darkening of Valinor and the flight of the Ñoldor to Middle-earth, most of the Valar were glad to have their ancient peace back, wishing for neither Melkor and his violence nor the murmur of the restless Ñoldor to come upon them again. Therefore, they clamored for the concealment of their land Aman. It was said that Vána was one among them.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter III: "The Fall of Gondolin"
==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." Vána robed herself in flowers and it was said that her hair was golden in color.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter VIII: "The Tale of the Sun and Moon" Vána had the beauty of both heaven and earth upon her face and in all her works.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part II, Quenta Silmarillion: "Of the Valar", pg. 226 Like Nessa, Vána also sang and danced along with her maidens.
==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".The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" Hence she was also known as Vána the Fair.
== Other versions of the legendarium ==
In an early version of the legendarium, Vána was a character of much greater power, known as Tári-Laisi, queen "of life" and bringer of spring and happiness. She was of a pair of sisters simply known as Tári ("Queens"), with the other being an early version of Nienna, seen as a mistress of death, winter, and despair. 
Vána and her husband Oromë were once envisioned to have had a daughter named Nielíqui.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter III: "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor"
In other material, Vána was the younger sister of Queen Varda and Yavanna.
Vána had 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.
In earlier versions laid out in The History of Middle-earth, J.R.R. 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. 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.
== Gallery ==
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ቫና
Arabic 	فانا
Armenian 	Վանա
Belarusian Cyrillic	Вана
Bengali 	ভান
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Вана
Chinese 	威娜
Georgian 	ვანა
Greek 	Βάνα
Gujarati 	વન​
Hindi 	वन​
Hebrew 	ואנה
Japanese 	ヴァーナ
Kazakh 	Вана (Cyrillic) Vana (Latin)
Korean 	바나
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
Uzbek 	Вана (Cyrillic) Vana (Latin)
Yiddish 	בֿאַנאַ
==References==
Category:Quenya names & words
Category:Valar
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
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