Nelson Mandela's flag-draped coffin is being carried to his final resting place in the remote village where the anti-apartheid icon grew up after his four-hour state funeral took place this morning.
South Africa's first black President died in his Johannesburg home on December 5, at the age of 95 after a long battle with illness and will now be laid in his grave in Qunu in Eastern Cape province.
The military lined the route up to the hillside as Mandela took his final journey with his body driven on a gun carriage to the private burial.
Earlier Mandela's widow Graca Machel arrived at the state ceremony ahead of her husband to honour the tradition of being home to receive his body in a room where his portrait stood above a bank of 95 candles representing each year of his remarkable life.
Around 5,000 guests, including his ex-wife Winnie, the Prince of Wales, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson and the American civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, were also at the service.
But the ceremony overran by nearly two hours as political figures gave a series of extended eulogies, meaning that his tribe's tradition that burials should be at noon 'when the sun is at its highest and the shadow at its shortest' had to change.
The current leader of his beloved country, Jacob Zuma, told mourners Madiba, as he was adoringly called, was 'a fountain of wisdom, a pillar of strength and a beacon of hope for all those fighting for a just and equitable world order.
'Today marks the end of extraordinary journey that began 95 years ago, the long walk to freedom has ended'.
Final journey: The coffin of former South
African President Nelson Mandela is carried by military personnel at the
end of his funeral service in his ancestral village of Qunu in the
Eastern Cape
Burial: The military carry Mandela's body along the pathway to the area where South Africa's beloved son's burial site in Qunu
Gathered to remember Madiba: South Africa's
president Jacob Zuma (2nd left), Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Mandela
(left), and the widow of Mandela, Graca Machel (3rd left), sit by his
coffin
Embrace: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who initially
claimed he had not been invited to the funeral, hugs former president
Thabo Mbeki
Respect: Candles are lit under a portrait of Nelson Mandela before his funeral. One for every year of his life
Dignitaries: Prince Charles, right, arrives for the state funeral on Sunday
Mourners: US talk show host Oprah Winfrey,
centre, her husband Stedman Graham, left, and English businessman
Richard Branson, right, watching the funeral service
Praise: President Jacob Zuma said that Mandela was 'a fountain of wisdom, a pillar of strength and a beacon of hope'
‘When people see goodness in a person they respond by reflecting goodnesss back at that person and on their fellow man and women,' Zuma said.
'Thank you for being everything we wanted in a leader during a difficult period in our lives.
'Your long walk to freedom has ended but in a physical sense our journey continues.
Historic figure: Thousands of people are paying tribute to South Africa 's first black president
He read a Mandela quote: ‘I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I fought it all through my life. I fight it now and will fight it to the end of my life.’
He said he taught forgiveness and reconciliation.
‘We learned from you that to build a new society, a new SA from the ashes of apartheid and colonialism we had to rise above anger and the human desire for retribution.’
Zuma also spoke of Mandela's dedication to gender equality which led to more women in public life.
He said: ‘We dare not reverse your achievements in this regard.’
‘As you take your final steps, South Africa will continue to rise.’
He said the poor and working class have benefitted from the fruits of democracy.
‘We commit to work more intensely to deal a decisive blow against poverty, inequality.’
Promised improved utilities, better jobs and working conditions as well as efficient and accountable public service.
‘We will be able to complete this country’s transformation into a global force for social and economic leadership that you believed we were capable of being.’
‘Tata as your triumphant journey comes to an end we sincerely thank you.’
‘We sincerely thank you, thank your family for sharing you with us and the world.’
Zumas added that his children must be truly proud today to be ‘brought to this planet by a man so great and humble’.
His casket, transported to the tent on a gun carriage and draped in the national flag, rested on a carpet of cow skins below a lectern where speakers delivered eulogies.
'A great tree has fallen, he is now going home to rest with his forefathers,' said Chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, a representative of Mandela's family.
Nandi Mandela said her grandfather went barefoot to school in Qunu when he was boy and eventually became president and a figure of global import.
'It is to each of us to achieve anything you want in life,' she said, recalling kind gestures by Mandela 'that made all those around him also want to do good.'
In the Xhosa language, she referred to her grandfather by his clan name: 'Go well, Madiba. go well to the land of our ancestors, you have run your race.'
Ahmed Kathrada, an anti-apartheid activist who was jailed on Robben Island with Mandela, remembered his old friend's 'abundant reserves' of love, patience and tolerance. He said it was painful when he saw Mandela for the last time, months ago in his hospital bed.
'He tightly held my hand, it was profoundly heartbreaking,' Kathrada said, his voice breaking at times. 'How I wish I never had to confront what I saw. I first met him 67 years ago and I recall the tall, healthy strong man, the boxer, the prisoner who easily wielded the pick and shovel when we couldn't do so.'
Final journey: The coffin carrying former South
African President Nelson Mandela is escorted into his state funeral
service in Qunu this morning
Eulogy: Mandela's granddaughter Nand takes to the podium to pay her tributes to the leader
Honor: A gun salute is fired as the funeral procession nears the Mandela family compound
Guests included veterans of the military wing of the African National Congress, the liberation movement that became the dominant political force after the end of apartheid, as well as U.S. Ambassador Patrick Gaspard and other foreign envoys. funeral cortege.
Procession: Military officers accompany the coffin into the funeral as others stand to attention
Speech: Joyce Banda, the president of Malawi, was one of many African leaders to pay tribute to Mandela at the service
Stage: The speakers delivered their addresses in front of 95 candles, representing every year of Mandela's life
Moved: Mandela's daughter Makaziwe, centre, sits in front of her father's coffin during the ceremony
Tears: The former president's daughter Zindzi comforts another mourner
The leopard skin signifies Mandela's status as a high-ranking official. Because he was also a former statesman, the casket was covered in the flag.
Following a tradition called Thetha, Xhosa culture requires a family elder to stay with Mandela's body and explain to his spirit what is happening.
'When the body lies there, the spirit is still alive,' the Rev Wesley Mabuza, chairman of South Africa's Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the right of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, said.
Mandela's widow Graca Machel arrived ahead of the casket to honor the tradition of being home to receive his body.
As the coffin arrived in the white tent for the state funeral, all guests except the family stood, and the choir sung Lizalis' idinga Iakho.
It was placed in the centre of the domed tent, on top of a cattle skin. His widow, Machel, and first wife, Winnie Mandela, then walked into the tent hand in hand. His children from both marriages were sat in the front row, with president Jacob Zuma between them.
Family said they had been reuniting by Machel and Winnie's show of friendship.
A central feature in the tent was a large picture of Mandela, placed behind 95 lit candles, one for each year of his long and full life.
Tradition: Mandela's casket, covered in the
nation's flag, was placed on a cattle skin as the service combined
elements of traditional and state funerals
Display: The coffin of former South African
President Nelson Mandela is seen draped in a South African national flag
during his funeral in his ancestral village of Qunu
Dignitaries: Anti-apartheid activist and friend Ahmed Kathrada, right, with former South Africa president Thabo Mbeki
Traditional: Mandla Mandela right, grandson of former South African president Nelson Mandela, during his grandfather's funeral
Deputy leader of the ANC Cyril Ramaphosa spoke at the funeral, explaining that in accordance with cultural traditions, they planned to lay Mandela to rest at noon 'When the sun is at hits highest and shadows are at its shortest'.
He told the mourners he agreed with president Jacob Zuma, who called Mandela South Africa's greatest son: 'Indeed today, the person who lies here today is South Africa's greatest son.'
Ramaphosa also welcomed royalty and presidents from Africa and around the world, including Prince Charles, and the Prince of Monaco.
Family Valedictory Service - Rev V Nyobole
Opening Devotions
Viewing of the body; Homily; Draping of the casket; Placing of the casket on the gun carriage and forming up of procession; Procession departs for the marquee
MARQUEE SERVICE
Funeral Service
National Anthem; Opening devotions: Bishop D Dabula
Madiba Family Representative - Chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima
Close friend - Mr Ahmed Kathrada
Reading of the Obituary
Tribute by the children and grandchildren: Ms Nandi Mandela
Tribute by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (AU Chairperson)
Tribute by President Joyce Banda (SADC Chairperson)
Tribute by President Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania)
Oration by President Jacob Zuma
Sermon and Benediction - Bishop Z Siwa; Military Ceremony - Chaplain-General of the SANDF; Movement of Designated Mourners to the Gravesite; Military Procession
AT THE GRAVESITE
President and family are seated at the gravesite
Removal of the Orders, Decorations, Medals and Miniature RSA Flag from the coffin by the SANDF to be handed over to the Chief of the SANDF who hands it over to the President for presentation to the next-of-kin.
Undraping of the casket
Pall-bearers salute and withdraw
Military pall-bearers take up position
Playing of the National Anthem, 21 Round Interment Salute and the Salute Flight
The Last Post is sounded
Sounding of Reveille
Military pall-bearers salute and withdraw
Committal Service by Bishop D Dabula
Vote of thanks: Major-General (retired) Bantu Holomisa
Benediction - Bishop D Dabula
Final goodbye: The flag-draped casket of South Africa's first black president arrives in Mandela's village
Coming home: A parade of servicemen lead the casket to the funeral
Home at last: Military officers and Nelson
Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela, rear, accompany the casket of the
former South African President as it arrives in Qunu
Tradition: Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela,
right, watches as local chiefs escort the lion skin draped casket of
former South African President as it arrives at the Mandela residence in
Qunu
Winnie Mandela (left), ex-wife of former South
African President, and Graca Macel, widow of Mandela, wipe away tears as
his flag-draped coffin arrives at the Mthata airport
Prayer: A traditional Shembe priest offers prayers as he looks towards the dome where Mandela's funeral was held
Spectator: A man watches the funeral on a big screen erected near the site of the ceremony
Watching: Locals who were kept away from the ceremony itself watched a big screen overlooking the venue
Assembled: Residents of Qunu sit and watch the proceedings unfold
Shelter: Women watching the funeral in Qunu wearing cloths on their heads to keep off the sun
Women hold ANC flags and banners as the long
convoy bringing Mandela's body home finally arrives in Qunu. As police
and military helicopters buzzed overheard, mourners broke into the South
African national anthem as the cortège appeared
A last look at the father of the nation: Locals
take photos as Mandela's hearse nears Qunu, a small hamlet in South
Africa's Eastern Cape province where he grew up
Parade: Members of the South Africa navy look on at the dome which was set up to host the funeral
A military guard of honour stands to attention
at the Mandela family's homestead in Qunu. Mandela, the revered icon of
the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and one of the towering
political figures of the 20th century, died in Johannesburg on December 5
at age 95
Locals cheers as Mandela arrives: Iit was
escorted by an enormous convoy of police, military and other vehicles,
many flashing emergency lights, arriving at about 4pm local time after
going past cheering crowds who had lined the route to pay their respects
Loved by the people: The motorcade transporting
Mandela's body passes through crowds of mourners gathered in the town of
Mthatha on its way to Qunu
Africa: Young women dance by the roadside in the
small village of Queque, near Qunu, as they wait to watch the funeral
procession to sweep by
Patriotism: Mourners wave and
cheer as the hearse transporting the flag-draped casket containing Mandela's body as it passes through the town of Mthatha
High security: Soldiers in full combat gear,
male and female, were stationed on foot on either side of the road from
the airport in Mthatha
Paying respects: Thousands of mourners line the
streets of Umthatha as the enormous convoy of police, military and other
vehicles sweeps through their town
Crowds of mourners cheer as they await the
motorcade: Mandela languished in jail for 27 years for his opposition to
the racist apartheid regime. Freed in 1990, he emerged to forge a new
democratic South Africa by promoting forgiveness and reconciliation
A celebration of life: Mourners sing, wave their
national flag and hold up posters of Mandela as they wait for his
funeral cortège to appear
Full military honours: Fighter jets escort the
military plane carrying the coffin of former South African President
Nelson Mandela as it is flown to Mandela's home in the village of Qunu,
Eastern Cape
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Madiba rest in peace. I pray you are catching a glimpse of this honour from eternity
ReplyDeleteHis burial is more expensive dan dat of mikel-jack-son
ReplyDeleteRest in peace Madiba!
ReplyDeleteU are such a good leader. Madiba Rest in Peace.... We love u but God loves u more dan we do.
ReplyDeleteMadiba rest Peace. We love u Papa!
ReplyDeleteUhn There lies the body of "The Iroko" of Africa! the Heavens are even smiling for receiving this 'laboured body' who deserves his desired REST. Thoughts for you and I............. Who is the next Mandela? You or I? Over to you and Me
ReplyDelete