Forums:Theory on Maia
I've been searching around about Maia and a few things don't quite add up.I suddenly had a "eureka!" moment and came up with this theory:
When Tolkien said "the Maia were sent by the Valar, perhaps he didn't mean "sent" as in their bodies included. Perhaps he meant their souls alone were sent. Kinda like how Christianity says the "spirit of Jesus came to Earth as a man". In that example, Jesus had mortal parents, yet was the son of God. Thus, his body was the son of his parents, but his soul was the son of God. Perhaps is kinda the same with Maia (though most probably didn't have parents). For example:
-Gandalf and the other Istari were Maia, but they were also men.
-Likewise, perhaps Galadriel was also a Maia, yet sent in the form of an elf.
-Just like Durin, who was possibly also a Maia, but sent as one of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves.
-Then there's the Balrogs. Tolkien first tells us that there were thousands of them, but later changes this to "between three and seven". Perhaps there were thousands of ordinary Balrogs, but only seven or so were Maia - these would be the most powerful, such as the one fought by Galdalf in Moria (Durin's Bane).
-Then there's the ents. Tolkien only mentions six or so, yet there are clearly much more, as seen in Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps these six or so ents (such as Treebeard) were also Maia!
-Finally, I once read a book (Tolkien's World - witch I now believe to be mostly fanon) witch said that Sauron was a Maia in the form of an elf (o0). Whether or not this is true or not still remains a mystery to me.
So, perhaps there are still Maia spirits by the side of the Valar, waiting to be sent in some or other physical form. Perhaps a baby could be born and the soul of that baby could be a Maia. Who knows. If only Tolkien still lived, we would have been able to ask him of this. But since he is no longer capable of answering, what do you think of my theory? -- Explorer of Arda 08:36, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
