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| Mandela’s Body Flown to Home Province for Funeral and Burial | Mandela’s Body Flown to Home Province for Funeral and Burial |
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| MTHATHA, South Africa — The body of former President Nelson Mandela was flown from Pretoria, where he had lain in state for three days, to this city in his native Eastern Cape Province on Saturday in preparation for a state funeral and burial to be held on Sunday. | MTHATHA, South Africa — The body of former President Nelson Mandela was flown from Pretoria, where he had lain in state for three days, to this city in his native Eastern Cape Province on Saturday in preparation for a state funeral and burial to be held on Sunday. |
| In an emotional ceremony, the military handed the body of Mr. Mandela over to the African National Congress, the party he led to victory as South Africa’s first black president in 1994, ending white rule. | In an emotional ceremony, the military handed the body of Mr. Mandela over to the African National Congress, the party he led to victory as South Africa’s first black president in 1994, ending white rule. |
| Mourners paid respects at his coffin, draped in the black, gold and green flag of the A.N.C., at a military base near the capital, Pretoria. | Mourners paid respects at his coffin, draped in the black, gold and green flag of the A.N.C., at a military base near the capital, Pretoria. |
| “We are sending you back to Qunu,” President Jacob G. Zuma said in his eulogy, referring to the village where Mr. Mandela grew up and where he will be buried. “We hope you rest in peace.” | “We are sending you back to Qunu,” President Jacob G. Zuma said in his eulogy, referring to the village where Mr. Mandela grew up and where he will be buried. “We hope you rest in peace.” |
| Mr. Zuma, who for much of the service sat between Mr. Mandela’s widow, Graça Machel, and his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was much better received by the select audience than he was by the much larger crowd at a public memorial on Tuesday, when he was booed. He has come under increasing scrutiny for his leadership of the party amid allegations of corruption in the $20 million renovation of his private home, paid for with government money. | Mr. Zuma, who for much of the service sat between Mr. Mandela’s widow, Graça Machel, and his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was much better received by the select audience than he was by the much larger crowd at a public memorial on Tuesday, when he was booed. He has come under increasing scrutiny for his leadership of the party amid allegations of corruption in the $20 million renovation of his private home, paid for with government money. |
| Mr. Zuma led the A.N.C. crowd in singing “Senzeni Na,” a mournful song from the fight against apartheid. | Mr. Zuma led the A.N.C. crowd in singing “Senzeni Na,” a mournful song from the fight against apartheid. |
| “What have we done,” he sang. “Our sin is blackness. Our sin is the truth. They are killing us. Let Africa return.” | “What have we done,” he sang. “Our sin is blackness. Our sin is the truth. They are killing us. Let Africa return.” |
| Eight uniformed pallbearers accompanied the coffin, which was draped in South Africa’s national flag, as it was carried to a waiting C-130 military transport plane. The plane was escorted by two fighter jets, lifting off from Waterkloof air base outside Pretoria in bright sunlight. | Eight uniformed pallbearers accompanied the coffin, which was draped in South Africa’s national flag, as it was carried to a waiting C-130 military transport plane. The plane was escorted by two fighter jets, lifting off from Waterkloof air base outside Pretoria in bright sunlight. |
| In Mthatha, the plane was to be greeted with full military honors, and Mr. Mandela’s body was set to be paraded through the city so that residents could pay their respects. | In Mthatha, the plane was to be greeted with full military honors, and Mr. Mandela’s body was set to be paraded through the city so that residents could pay their respects. |
| Hundreds of residents gathered along the roads leading from Mthatha to Qunu, singing, clapping and waving South African flags, hoping to catch a last glimpse of Mr. Mandela as his cortege drove by. | Hundreds of residents gathered along the roads leading from Mthatha to Qunu, singing, clapping and waving South African flags, hoping to catch a last glimpse of Mr. Mandela as his cortege drove by. |
| “He is our father; we must welcome him home,” said Boneka Mpopoma, 48, a schoolteacher who walked several miles from her village to join the throng in paying tribute. She said that in the Xhosa culture, it was essential to be buried in the lands of your ancestors. “You must bury him where he was born,” she said. “He must rest with his father’s fathers.” | “He is our father; we must welcome him home,” said Boneka Mpopoma, 48, a schoolteacher who walked several miles from her village to join the throng in paying tribute. She said that in the Xhosa culture, it was essential to be buried in the lands of your ancestors. “You must bury him where he was born,” she said. “He must rest with his father’s fathers.” |
| As the caravan carrying Mr. Mandela snaked its way through Mthatha, the scene outside his home in Qunu was placid. There were some soldiers in the street, but it was mostly quiet. Security was extremely tight; security personnel in plain clothes scolded a young man and threatened to confiscate his cellphone when he took it out to take a picture of the distant setup where Mr. Mandela’s funeral would be held. | |
| Felicity Mgoqi, 58, who returned to Qunu, the town where she grew up, to bury her mother on Saturday, said she thought it was unfair that community members could not freely attend Mr. Mandela’s funeral. It is not customary to issue invitations for a funeral in Xhosa tradition, village elders said, because everyone is welcome at community funerals. | |
| “We are very disappointed that they didn’t let us see him,” said Sibongiseni Hloma, a clerk in the local courts here. “In our culture, funerals are for the whole community. Nobody is invited because everyone is invited.” | “We are very disappointed that they didn’t let us see him,” said Sibongiseni Hloma, a clerk in the local courts here. “In our culture, funerals are for the whole community. Nobody is invited because everyone is invited.” |
| “Now we are so very sad because we didn’t see him when he’s buried,” she said on Saturday. | |
| Nomanono Molletye, a 61-year-old grandmother who came out to greet the motorcade, said that Mr. Mandela, who hated the fussy world of V.I.P.s and protocol, would not have approved of the exclusion of ordinary people from his funeral. “Madiba always treated everybody the same,” Ms. Molletye said, referring to Mr. Mandela’s clan name. “There were no V.I.P.s to him.” | Nomanono Molletye, a 61-year-old grandmother who came out to greet the motorcade, said that Mr. Mandela, who hated the fussy world of V.I.P.s and protocol, would not have approved of the exclusion of ordinary people from his funeral. “Madiba always treated everybody the same,” Ms. Molletye said, referring to Mr. Mandela’s clan name. “There were no V.I.P.s to him.” |
| The week of memorial events for Mr. Mandela has not been without missteps and embarrassing headlines. A man who stood a few feet from President Obama and other dignitaries at the stadium memorial in Soweto purporting to be a sign-language interpreter turned out not to be qualified for the job and was said to be suffering from serious mental illness. | The week of memorial events for Mr. Mandela has not been without missteps and embarrassing headlines. A man who stood a few feet from President Obama and other dignitaries at the stadium memorial in Soweto purporting to be a sign-language interpreter turned out not to be qualified for the job and was said to be suffering from serious mental illness. |
| On Saturday, former Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he had canceled plans to attend the funeral of Mr. Mandela, a fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, after learning that his name was not on the list of accredited guests. | On Saturday, former Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he had canceled plans to attend the funeral of Mr. Mandela, a fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, after learning that his name was not on the list of accredited guests. |
| “Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would be disrespectful to Tata to gate-crash what was billed as a private family funeral,” the archbishop said in a statement, referring to Mr. Mandela by one of his many honorific nicknames. “Had I been informed I was invited, there’s no way on earth I would have missed it.” | “Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would be disrespectful to Tata to gate-crash what was billed as a private family funeral,” the archbishop said in a statement, referring to Mr. Mandela by one of his many honorific nicknames. “Had I been informed I was invited, there’s no way on earth I would have missed it.” |
| But government officials said that the archbishop, as an eminent citizen of South Africa, was certainly invited and promised to clear up any misunderstanding. Archbishop Tutu has been critical of the A.N.C. in recent years over issues like corruption, police brutality and growing inequality. | But government officials said that the archbishop, as an eminent citizen of South Africa, was certainly invited and promised to clear up any misunderstanding. Archbishop Tutu has been critical of the A.N.C. in recent years over issues like corruption, police brutality and growing inequality. |
| The state funeral will be held on Sunday with extremely tight security under a vast domed marquee constructed for the occasion in the verdant hills adjacent to the house that Mr. Mandela built in Qunu. Thousands of guests will be shuttled by bus to the event, and a number of heads of state and other prominent people will attend, including the presidents of several neighboring countries, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Prince Charles of Britain. | The state funeral will be held on Sunday with extremely tight security under a vast domed marquee constructed for the occasion in the verdant hills adjacent to the house that Mr. Mandela built in Qunu. Thousands of guests will be shuttled by bus to the event, and a number of heads of state and other prominent people will attend, including the presidents of several neighboring countries, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Prince Charles of Britain. |
| The state funeral will be televised, and Mr. Mandela will be buried in a private ceremony for the family shortly afterward, the government said. | The state funeral will be televised, and Mr. Mandela will be buried in a private ceremony for the family shortly afterward, the government said. |
John Eligon contributed reporting from Qunu, South Africa. | John Eligon contributed reporting from Qunu, South Africa. |