Could there be Some Mystic Connection to Creativity, and Artistic Prowess?
Some people secretly believe that some kind of supernatural influence inspires people to create, invent, and to produce. They might be right or wrong, because to most people, there is really no concrete evidence to prove that. It doesn’t matter what they create; whether it is music, writing, painting, etc. Culturally and historically speaking, in most regions, there are gods and goddesses believe for assisting what people do in different walks of life. You must have heard of them, like the god of war, goddess of fertility, god of peace. Those gods were highly revered by the people who believed in them, and referenced whenever someone accomplished some extra ordinary level of results in their endeavours. When there are battles to fight, people run on to the god of war, expecting victory. Barren women would always visit the god of fertility when they are looking for the fruit of the womb. Those who are poor would go to the god of wealth, looking for wealth and prosperity.
- Athena: Goddess of wisdom, warfare, and craft.
- Hygieia: Goddess of health, and hygiene.
- Artemis (Diana): Goddess of the hunt wilderness, wild animals, the moon, and chastity; the protector of women and young girls.
- Apollo: God of music, arts, knowledge, healing, and archery. He is also associated with light and reason.
- Zeus: King of the gods, associated with the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, and justice, etc. These are just but a few in the Greek pantheon, there are so many others in other religions and cultures.
I have to mention these famous gods for easy understanding of this article because they are widely known. Otherwise there are just so many other gods and goddesses in different religions and cultures, just as we have;
- Akpam: The god of Justice and uprightness as narrated in the book, The Mind of a Hero by Chinonso Aguzie.
Now while we speak of forces that assist men, let’s talk about Muse.
Muse
Is Muse really a god? Muse can be different things. But when it comes to art and creativity, muse is someone who inspires creativity and provides inspiration or ideas for a work of art. But according to the Greek mythology, muse is the goddess who presided over the arts and creativity, just like Apollo. Now, artistry and creativity can be learned just like every other craft, therefore, there are arguments surrounding the concept of spiritual forces that inspire creativity and artistry.
Below is my encounter during my early years of writing my first novel, The Mind of a Hero. Till date, it still remained an experience that I haven’t figured out yet.
When Imagination Matches With Reality
In 2019 when I’m done writing the last draft of my first novel, The Mind of a hero, and editing had commenced. One weekend I left school to visit my parents. That evening, lying down on my wooden bed and listening to my mother’s conversation with her friend in the kitchen, a word slipped into my ears, ‘Arochukwu’. I was greatly shocked to hear that word. The word, Arochukwu, was so familiar to me, yet it was my first time to hear it from someone, and I have never seen or read it anywhere. I gradually sat up on my bed to make sure I heard correctly. The woman who visited my mum repeated the same word. She was telling my mum of how they went for a traditional marriage at Arochukwu. I couldn’t believe my ears, but I restrained the urge to slip into their conversations (I learnt from my grandma never to intrude when elders are talking).
When the woman left, and the kitchen was quiet, I asked my mum if there is any place like Arochukwu. She casually said, yes. I became scared. The next moment, I was drowned in a deep thought. It was amazing and scary to me because I was very sure that I have never heard about such word like Arochukwu in my whole life, and never did I know that it was a name of a place. Here is the thing; Arochukwu was one of the major villages I used in my book. I thought it was untainted, new, and freshly invented by me, just like the same way I had invented the name of these other two villages Umumbara, Umunta, or the names of characters such as Igbendu, Idika, etc.
The next moment, out of anxiety, I was already on my phone googling about Arochukwu. That was when I felt those awe striking goose bumps, not on my body, but on my soul. I began to see the Arochukwu long juju slave route, and the role they played during the transatlantic slave trade, in the land of Arochukwu. Overall, I saw 80 percent of all the things I have already written about Arochukwu. Simply put, I sincerely wrote about them without having a prior knowledge of their historical background: who they are or what they represent, and yet got them just right.
At that moment, I realized two things; its either I get rid of Arochukwu from the story entirely, or I change the whole narrative concerning them in the book. I thought about what I am going to do for days and weeks, but I couldn’t simply change my narrative, and I couldn’t also get rid of Arochukwu off my story, because I have already fallen in love with it. Arochukwu came so natural to me that I never thought I could be able to formulate any other name that could be suitable for the story I was writing. So what do I have to do since I had always wanted my work to be unique, true and authentic? I did nothing.
I wanted to change Arochukwu from the story not because I wrote anything negative about them, but simply because I was a little scared of the unknown. Because, bringing out some long forgotten truths that are unknown about a place may be a little quit unsettling to its people.
Finally, in 2023, when the book was about to get published, we just put a disclaimer to it.
Now, let’s hear your thoughts on this. Do you think there is some mystic connection to creativity and artistic prowess? Have you had such experience before in your creative journey? If you are in my shoes, what would you call the experience, a coincidence? Or, was it an extreme act of artistic excellence?
