World says adieu to Mandela in Qunu

Nelson Mandela was yesterday laid to rest in his ancestral home in Qunua, after political and religious leaders paid tribute to South Africa’s first black president at a state funeral service.His widow, Graca Machel, and President Jacob Zuma were present for the private, traditional Xhosa burial. Zuma had earlier told the larger funeral service that South Africans had to take his legacy forward.Mandela died on December 5 aged 95.The ritesThe last of 10 days of commemorations for Mandela began with his coffin being taken on a gun carriage from his home to a giant marquee where his portrait hung behindTwo grandchildren then addressed the congregation. Ndaba read an obituary, while Nandi spoke fondly of her grandfather as a disciplinarian.“We shall miss you... your stern voice when you are not pleased with our behaviour. We shall miss your laughter,” said Nandi.Listening to the tributes were Graca Machel and Mandela’s former wife, Winnie-Madikizela Mandela. They sat either side of President Jacob Zuma.Both women were praised for their love and tolerance, in an address by Malawi’s President Joyce Banda.African National Congress members, veterans of the fight against apartheid and foreign dignitaries, including several African presidents and the Prince of Wales, were among the guests.Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela, was also in attendance, as was US talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.While the service took place, a 21-gun salute sounded far away in Pretoria.President Zuma led the service in song before giving his funeral speech, saying it had been a long and painful week for the people of South Africa.“Whilst the long walk to freedom has ended in the physical sense, our own journey continues,” Zuma said.An unexpected contribution came from Kenneth Kaunda, 89-year-old former president of Zambia, who lightened the tone of the proceedings by jogging to the stage.He recounted failed appeals he had made to two South African leaders, John Vorster and PW Botha, for the release of Mandela and his ANC colleagues from prison.As the political tributes overran, the organisers made an unsuccessful attempt to cut back the religious element of the service.‘Fitting noon burial’The master of ceremonies, ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, had earlier explained that burial had to take place at midday, in line with the traditions of Mandela’s Thembu tribe in Qunu.“A person of Mandela’s stature is meant to be laid to rest when the sun is at its highest and when the shadow is at its shortest,” Ramaphosa said.As the state funeral drew to a close, military pallbearers carried the coffin to the grave site for the more private ceremony.There, a chaplain spoke of Mandela achieving ultimate freedom at the end of a “truly long walk.”George Bizos, another close friend who was part of Mandela’s legal team at his 1964 Rivonia trial, was among those who attended the private burial.“We have known each other for 65 years. Now he is gone,” he said.Three helicopters trailing South African flags then flew over the scene followed by six jets. Television pictures of the grave site came to a close.British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who attended the burial, said Desmond Tutu told mourners Nelson Mandela “doesn’t need a stone–he is in all of our hearts.”The former archbishop was at the private ceremony despite conflicting statements on Friday about whether he had been invited.According to tradition, the Thembu community were holding a private traditional Xhosa ceremony, including songs and poems about Mandela’s life and his achievements.An ox was slaughtered, its blood drank by mourners, and a family elder was to stay near the coffin, to talk “to the body’s spirit.”