Imin (PQ."First") was the first of the Quendi, to awaken beside the waters of Cuiviénen, the "Waters of Awakening," under the stars set by Varda. He was the progenitor of the first elven clan, the Minyar, forefathers of the Vanyar and husband of Iminye. He was the father of Ilion and it is said that Ingwë Ingweron and his sister Ingyë, mother of Indis the Fair, were his great-great grandchildren.
History[]
In the twilight before the rising of the stars, Imin was the first to awaken at the shores of Cuiviénen, the "Waters of Awakening." His name, Imin, means "First" in the tongue of early Quendi, and it came to signify not only his order of awakening but also his pride and the authority he assumed among the newly awakened Elves.
There, he was joined by his wife, Iminyë, who rose soon after him. Together, they beheld the first lights of the stars, newly kindled by Varda, and marveled at the beauty of the world. They wandered the shores of Cuiviénen, seeking others of their kind. In their wandering, they met the other Fathers of the Elves: Tata and Enel, who awoke with their spouses, Tatië and Enelyë.
Imin led the three pairs in search of others, and soon they found twelve Elves asleep beside the waters. With pride in his heart, Imin claimed these twelve as his followers, calling them the Minyar, "the Firsts." Thus began the gathering of the clans of the Quendi. The Minyar became the ancestors of the Vanyar, the first and fairest of the Elves, golden-haired and noble in spirit.
The arrogance of Imin is portrayed in the tale called Cuivienyarna, which tells how, as the Fathers of the Elves journeyed further, they found new groups of Elves awakening from slumber. Each time, Imin refused to take the newly awakened, insisting that he would find a larger group to claim for his people. But his pride led him astray, for no greater group was found, and the Minyar remained the smallest of the clans. They numbered only fourteen, and thus the Vanyar were ever the fewest among the Quendi.
The fate of Imin, Iminyë, and their son Ilion remains a mystery to this day. Unlike Tata and Enel, whose lineages are better known among the Avari and the Eldar, the line of Imin vanished from record. There are no clear tales of Imin or his immediate kin beyond the early years of Cuiviénen, but in the songs of the Eldar, there are hints that some of the early Quendi disappeared into the night, never to be seen again, and it is possible that Imin was among this Lost Elves.