South Africa has bid farewell to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the last great hero of the struggle against apartheid, in a funeral stripped of pomp but freighted with tears and drenched in rain.

The funeral started with a hymn and a procession of clerics down the aisle burning incense and carrying candles in the church where Tutu will also be buried on Saturday.

Tutu died last Sunday aged 90, triggering grief among South Africans and tributes from world leaders for a life spent fighting injustice.

The first Black archbishop of Cape Town became an Anglican priest in the early 1960s, and was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984 for his non-violent opposition to apartheid.

After South Africa achieved democracy in 1994, the late Nelson Mandela named Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body created to report on human rights violations that took place during apartheid.

Famous for his modesty, Tutu gave instructions for a simple, no-frills ceremony, with a cheap coffin, donations for charity instead of floral tributes and an eco-friendly cremation.

The requiem mass started at 10am (08:00 GMT) at Cape Town’s St George’s Cathedral where, for years, Tutu used the pulpit to rail against a brutal white minority regime.

Mourners at the intentionally simple ceremony were limited to close friends and family, clergy and a few international guests, including King Letsie III from neighbouring Lesotho.

Tutu’s ashes are later due to be interred in a mausoleum inside the cathedral.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who accorded Tutu a special category funeral, usually designated for presidents and very important people, described the Nobel Peace Prize-winning icon as a man of "great moral stature”.

"If we are to understand a global icon to be someone with great moral stature, of exceptional qualities and service to humanity, there can be no doubt it refers to the man we are laying to rest today,” Ramaphosa said.

"Tutu was without question a crusader in the struggle for freedom, justice, equality peace, not only in South Africa … but around the world as well.

"[He was] a humble and brave human being who spoke for the oppressed, the downtrodden and the suffering of the world how fitting is it that his parents named him Mpilo when he was born, meaning life.”

Ramaphosa then presented Tutu’s widow, Leah, with South Africa’s six-coloured flag, which inspired Tutu to coin the term "rainbow nation” to describe the peaceful coexistence of South Africa’s many population groups after apartheid.

"We shared him with the world, and you shared part of the love you had for him with us,” said Tutu’s daughter Naomi, who is also a priest.

"We are thankful that all of you have gathered in your many places, in person or via the wonders of technology, to celebrate daddy’s life this week … We say thank you daddy, for the many ways you showed us love. For the many ways you challenged us.”

Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from Cape Town, said the president went a step further by acknowledging the archbishop’s criticism of the post-apartheid government’s shortcomings.

"This wasn’t a man, Ramaphosa said, that just preached from the pulpit but he was on the ground with the people for various causes, whether it was the racial segregation at the time or even after the dawn of democracy,” Miller said.

"Actually, acknowledging some of the criticism that the Archbishop had voiced against the African National Congress government led by Ramaphosa, talking about how there were still issues around poverty and corruption in South Africa.”