Aulë is the Vala who created the Dwarves in J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology.
Aulë is the Vala associated with making, craftsmanship, substances of the earth, and the shaping of Arda. Longing for the arrival of the Children of Ilúvatar, he secretly fashioned the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves. He created them before the Elves awoke, but he could not give them independent life by his own power.
When Ilúvatar confronted Aulë, the Vala demonstrated his willingness to destroy the Dwarves rather than keep them as possessions. Ilúvatar then accepted them into the design of the world, while requiring that they sleep until after the awakening of the Elves. This account appears in The Silmarillion.
Aulë is not the creator of the Elves or Men. Ilúvatar creates those peoples, while Aulë’s role concerns the Dwarves and the material works of the world. Manwë rules the Valar, Ulmo governs waters, and Oromë is associated with hunting and the forests.