ELDALONDË AND OTHER ELVEN GROUPS
by Elthalion Peredhel

I have wandered in many lands, seeking the lost regions from which my birth into this world exiled me, and the company of creatures such as I myself.
- George Bernard Shaw

I have spent some time wondering around online today, looking at the other groups I belong to and the sites listed in their links sections. And once again, I'm reminded of how different we are from these other groups.

For one thing, we function more as an actual community than just an online idea-sharing group. We have various job roles within the group, which are filled by our members and which, for the most part, require very little supervision. We are in the process of setting up a means of funding our group and our councils. We have many different talents and skills among our people, which are often used to help other members or to benefit the group as a whole.

If we were all suddenly thrown together in one physical location for an extended period of time, I think we'd do quite well. We seem to know how to function as a real, working community. A lot of other groups have talked about trying to recreate Rivendell or some other type of Elven haven, but we are moving towards it naturally, without all the planning, research, and unrealistic ideas. And our community is designed to function in a modern world, taking into account who we are now, rather than who we used to be or the trying to recreate a way of living that is quite impractical to who we are now.

The second thing I have noticed is that so many other groups are based on trying to recreate Elven spirituality and/or to put together a sort of Elven "religion". This doesn't even seem to enter into the picture for us. We already know our own beliefs, what feels right and what doesn't. We feel no need for a structured form of religion or for regular ceremonies and rituals. We celebrate holidays in a manner that suits us, and we never ask that other members do likewise. In short, we are very spiritual without being organized in our spirituality, which I think is the way it always was for our people.

Another thing I've noticed about the recent emergence of "Tolkien" Elves is that so many of them are so caught up in Tolkien that they fail to even entertain the idea that Tolkien might not have been 100% accurate. They spend a great deal of time trying to prove that Tolkien's books were based on truth, trying to analyze various aspects of the books and movies, trying to think, act, and live like the characters in the books. And it blinds them to so many things.

Those of us in this group view Tolkien as a chronicler of our history, and like all chroniclers of history, his version has some holes and mistakes in it, and is often influenced by his own views. We regard it as we would a history of the renaissance period, for instance. It is fascinating, fun to recreate for brief periods. But we all know there is more to the story than what we get in books and movies. We know that things were not as glamorous as they seem and most of us have very little desire to live that way now. We talk about it, we think about it, it can sometimes sound ideal. But that's the thing. Most of us regard it as idealistic and would much prefer to work on incorporating our Elveness into our current lives rather than trying to live as we once did in a world that is so unsuited to that way of life, and that so desperately needs us to be a part of things as they are, not as they were. We can do no good in a sheltered community, keeping to ourselves, pretending the rest of the world doesn't exist. But we can do wonderful things in the real world. That is where we are needed and where our magic is needed.

ON TOLKIEN
by Elthalion Peredhel

What most people seem to forget is that Tolkien wasn't perfect. He did what he could with the mythology that he had, but his books are found in the fiction section for a reason. Dry mythology is boring to most people. Tolkien had to spice things up. He elaborated in great detail on most of the bare bones, but at the core level there is truth.
- Naira Immacariel

Tolkien drew from ancient, well known mythology, legend, history, and beliefs about Elves when writing his books. His description of Elves as tall, noble creatures of light and magic matches descriptions of Elves and Faeries from across the globe. Many of Middle-Earth cultures reflect the own cultures and fragments of histories of the recorded peoples -- the Goths and the Rohirrim, and the Egyptians and the Gondorians. The history that he detailed in the Silmarillion parallels many ancient myths, not the least of which are that of the Tuatha de Dannan in Ireland.

We use the names of people and places in Tolkien's books as a handy framework, since we have few names for people or places ourselves. It is less confusing to have 25 people calling a forest realm Lórien or Greenwood than to have 25 people each using a different name for the same place. Tolkien's works also give us a sort-of timeline that seems to be at least moderately useful when sorting out our memories.

As stated in another essay, Eldalondë and Other Elven Groups, we see Tolkien as a chronicler of our history, but like all chroniclers, he is subjected to embellish and to incorporate his own ideas. There is no fault in that, but for those who wish to understand the truths in the core of his works, they must be able to accept that many of the details are there for the purpose of giving the world a good story. His works serve as a comparison to memories we have, and -- without disrespecting the professor's work -- are continuously under the process of historical "correction".

There are stories and legends all over the world with similar threads running through them. Tolkien is but one of many. We believe that the whole truth can be found by studying and combining all these stories to get the "big picture".

BASICS:
» Is this an RPG place?
No, no and no! We cannot stress this enough! We are not a role playing society. We truly believe what we say. If that is not okay with you, you shouldn't be here.

» What kind of Elves are you?
We are what is sometimes called "Tolkien Elves", Firstborn or Quendi. We are very similar to Tolkien's portrayal of elves in our cultures, beliefs, and memories. For more information, see On Tolkien.

» What about Tolkien?
We believe that Tolkien's work contains much truth and provides a nice framework for our group. However, we don't take Tolkien's works as "gospel truth" and we don't think we are characters from the books or movies. Rather, we feel that Tolkien was inspired in some way to write his books and that we are or were the people on which his stories were based.

» Are you a cult? You sound scary.
No, we are not. It just so happens the person compiling most of the information is very straightforward in nature and can be a bit dry and technical sometimes. Don't worry, she doesn't bite. Much. ;)

» How can I join the community?
Please refer to this entry.


YOUR QUESTIONS:
» How can I tell that I'm an Elf?
One of the best ways is to trust your instincts. If something just "feels" right to you, it probably is. However, that does not mean that this particular society will be suitable for you. This and this may help you.

» Are you otherkin?
No. Please see the fourth paragraph of What We Are Not.

» Are Elves better than humans?
No. We are both children of the Creator, and of us children are all equal in His/Her/Its eyes.

» Can you give me an Elven name?
No, but the Silver Elves can.


DOUBTS:
» Can prove that there is some truth in Tolkien's works? Are Elves real?
As many would be aware by now, Tolkien had a vast expanse of myths, folktales and history to tinker and tweak with to his delight. Please check our links section for detailed works of researchers and chroniclers Tolkien drew from.

» You're crazy. There is no such thing as Elves.
Each to oneself. We will not try to persuade you or force you to think so otherwise.