Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Edited coverage of the state funeral of Nelson Mandela, held in his home village of Qunu. Perhaps as a precaution, President Zuma began not with a speech, but a song, the haunting and lovely “Thina Sizwe” or “We the Nation” – a revolutionary hymn no one was going to boo. Death and state funeral of Nelson Mandela → Death and funeral of Nelson Mandela – There was a private funeral too. There will be a Panama City, Fla., memorial service to celebrate the life and legacy of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Sunday, … The president has to show support for Madiba at this difficult time," he said, using Mr Mandela's traditional clan nickname. In truth, however, there was little danger that the chaotic scenes at Soweto’s football stadium in front of 91 world leaders would begin again. "Nelson Mandela, a former president, has lost his son. President Jacob Zuma ordered that all flags on government buildings be flown at half-mast for the duration of the mourning period. There were some complaints from the public outside about lack of access to the ceremony, a lingering issue in Qunu. Prince Charles and Prince Albert of Monaco, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Oprah Winfrey and Sir Richard Branson, the actors Idris Elba and Forest Whitaker, came to pay their respects. The funeral of Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela’s 20th-century death is just one unusual memory among thousands. Nokuzola Mndende, director of the Icamagu Institute for traditional religion, claimed this process was followed. There were reminders of sacrifices made to win fundamental rights from an often vicious racist regime. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. He was later buried there on the same day. However, although the ceremony was Christian, the funeral was steeped in the rituals of the former President’s Xhosa tribal heritage. This memorial event is the largest in the world in terms of foreign leaders, surpassing the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Outside, there was a 21-gun salute and a flypast of warplanes in a “missing man formation”, used to salute a fallen pilot. After a week of celebrating Mandela's life with song and dance, Sunday's funeral service took a much more somber note. “Everything outside here has involved the famous people, important people, but this is home and we should have been given a chance to see him and say goodbye,” she protested. Ramlakan, who penned a tell-all book about statesman Nelson Mandela's final days, will be given a funeral with “full military honours”, the SANDF announced on Friday. Nelson Mandela funeral: a gun salute, then still, silent calm, and it was over This article is more than 6 years old. The funeral for former South African president and anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela is set to be held on 14 December 2013 after his death aged 95 on 5 December. This is a list of dignitaries at the state memorial service of Nelson Mandela … We felt it was important, as white South African life could have been very different for us if Mr Mandela had not managed to stop a civil war breaking out. But none of them were expected to speak. Rosalie Clark passed away in Wilmette, Illinois. This was missed because the event, like every other in the last week, overran. Thabo Mbeki earlier indicated that his presence at the funeral was a gesture of support for Mr Mandela, rather than a political statement. Many people – perhaps thousands – seem to believe that. Nelson Mandela's body was laid to rest in a solemn and moving funeral ceremony today, as the world commemorated a man who embodied the human will to do good. The wind blew gently through the valleys, the sun shone, apple blossoms floated in the air as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was laid in his final resting place, the earth of the Transkei from where he had sprung.