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South Africa: Nelson Mandela laid to rest
The casket bearing Nelson Mandela’s remains prior to being lowered into his grave. PHOTO/AFP/Getty Images
Nelson Mandela was laid to rest Sunday in the green, rolling hills of the eastern hamlet where he began his extraordinary journey — one that led him from prison to the presidency, a global symbol of endurance and reconciliation in the fight against South Africa’s brutal racist rule.
Artillery boomed and military aircraft roared through a cloud-studded sky, as the simple and the celebrated gathered to pay their final respects in Mandela’s native village of Qunu at a state funeral that blended ancient tribal rituals with a display of the might of the new, integrated South Africa.
The burial of Nelson Mandela ended a 10-day mourning period that began with his death on December 5 at 95, and included a Johannesburg memorial attended by nearly 100 world leaders and 3 days during which tens of thousands of South Africans of all races and backgrounds filed past his casket in the capital, Pretoria.
For South Africans, it was also a time for reflection about the racial integration they achieved when Mandela presided over the end of apartheid, and the economic inequality and other challenges that have yet to be overcome and seem certain to test his legacy’s endurance.
The burial site marked a return to Mandela’s humble roots, but the funeral trappings were elaborate.
In contrast to the military pomp, some speakers evoked the traditions of the Xhosa ethnic group, to which Mandela’s Thembu clan belongs.
‘‘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 who wore an animal skin. ‘‘We thank them for lending us such an icon.’’
