[Mithadan]

Sorry. I think that if Tom must be categorized then he must be considered a Maia (apologies for throwing about terms you may not be familiar with Treebeard; as I recall you have not yet read the Silmarillion). JRRT created a cosmology which is fundamentally consistent internally. Virtually everything can be explained or placed into a category within this cosmology. Why must Tom be different?

But let's consider what JRRT says. In Letters he refers to Tom as an enigma, a position many are satisfied with. Is there more info on Tom? YES. In Return of the Shadow, JRRT's outline of In the House of Tom Bombadil does have some commentary. JRRT calls Tom an "aborigine"! What does this mean? *Mithadan opens his copy of the OED* "First or earliest so far as science gives record: primitive: strictly native, indigenous" And also: "Dwelling in any country before the arrival of later, European colonists." The "colonists" are Elves and Men and it is their "science" which creates the record of Middle Earth. So Tom was earlier than Elves and Men, a "native" and "indigenous" to the land. Ooooo. This should give people some cannon fodder. Why Tom's nature is of such interest has always been beyond me, but have fun people.