The Dreams of Mama Jane

Somehow between my four words of Maa and her four words of English, a whole lot of facial expression and charades, Mama Jane and I always manage to communicate, often ending up in fits of laughter in the process. In-between photoshoots and installing new projects, I make sure to find time to visit her and the mamas in the Beading Studio, sitting with them to reconnect and perhaps even learn some new songs.

In recent years, the Maasai women have joined the warriors at Angama Mara’s Sundowner Boma and it's always a joy to watch as Mama Jane loses herself in song and chanting. It never occurred to me that there would be so much more to this story.
 
On a visit to the lodge earlier this year, I heard murmurings about Mama Jane having a story to tell. I asked her if she would share it with me and I feel extremely honoured that she agreed. Here are some precious stories about her life and its entanglement with Angama Mara, as she has lived in the area all her life.

Many years ago, when worshipping one day, Mama Jane had a vision of dancing and singing with warriors to a song that she didn’t know at the time, with people who she didn’t know either, but today she knows both well, as these are the songs she sings most evenings with the warriors at the Boma. She also had a vision of herself singing and walking up the hill the way we now do for weddings at Angama Mara. She remembers waking up feeling very happy from this dream.

After another session of worship and fasting, she had a vision of herself clearing the bushes where the Angama Chapel now sits. She saw that there was a lady helping her and a man walking towards them carrying spears and sticks. Together they called to the man and said: “Come and help us clear the area as we are building God’s temple”.
 
The man refused to help them and ran away. She told the lady with her that that man was actually the devil and they must chase him away. They started shouting and chasing him and he ran all the way down to the Mara. Then she awoke. Years later, when she saw the people building the chapel, she turned to the other mamas she was with and said: “That is exactly where I dreamt they would build a chapel.”

Mama Jane loves to worship there as she feels that it is God’s prophecy. All her dreams have come true and this fills her with a deep sense of happiness and gratitude.