This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/world/africa/mandelas-body-flown-to-home-province-for-funeral-and-burial.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Mandela’s Body Arrives in Home Province for Funeral Amid Cheers and Songs | Mandela’s Body Arrives in Home Province for Funeral Amid Cheers and Songs |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| MTHATHA, South Africa — Thousands of mourners lined the streets here to bid a raucous, heartfelt farewell to Nelson Mandela, whose body arrived in this city in his native Eastern Cape Province on Saturday ahead of a state funeral and burial on Sunday. | MTHATHA, South Africa — Thousands of mourners lined the streets here to bid a raucous, heartfelt farewell to Nelson Mandela, whose body arrived in this city in his native Eastern Cape Province on Saturday ahead of a state funeral and burial on Sunday. |
| “Madiba, yo, my president!” people sang as they waited for his hearse to pass, hoping to catch one last glimpse of South Africa’s first black president. It whooshed by moments later, amid cheers and songs of lamentation, the flag-draped coffin visible through the thick panes of the Mercedes van that carried it to Qunu, the village where Mr. Mandela grew up and the place where he will be buried. | “Madiba, yo, my president!” people sang as they waited for his hearse to pass, hoping to catch one last glimpse of South Africa’s first black president. It whooshed by moments later, amid cheers and songs of lamentation, the flag-draped coffin visible through the thick panes of the Mercedes van that carried it to Qunu, the village where Mr. Mandela grew up and the place where he will be buried. |
| The body of Mr. Mandela was flown here from Pretoria, where he had lain in state for three days, after an emotional ceremony in which the military handed over the body of Mr. Mandela to the African National Congress, the party he led to victory in 1994, ending white rule. | The body of Mr. Mandela was flown here from Pretoria, where he had lain in state for three days, after an emotional ceremony in which the military handed over the body of Mr. Mandela to the African National Congress, the party he led to victory in 1994, ending white rule. |
| “We are sending you back to Qunu,” President Jacob Zuma said in his eulogy. “We hope you rest in peace.” | “We are sending you back to Qunu,” President Jacob Zuma said in his eulogy. “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 connection with 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 connection with 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.” |
| The week of memorial events has not been without missteps and embarrassing headlines. The man hired to provide interpretation for the deaf on Tuesday at the memorial in Soweto, standing a few feet from President Obama and other dignitaries, used incomprehensible sign language and later said he had a mental illness that sometimes caused him to act violently. | The week of memorial events has not been without missteps and embarrassing headlines. The man hired to provide interpretation for the deaf on Tuesday at the memorial in Soweto, standing a few feet from President Obama and other dignitaries, used incomprehensible sign language and later said he had a mental illness that sometimes caused him to act violently. |
| Then on Saturday, Desmond Tutu, the retired Anglican archbishop, 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. Archbishop Tutu has been critical of the A.N.C. in recent years over issues like corruption, police brutality and growing inequality. | |
| “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.” |
| Government officials said the archbishop was on the list of accredited guests but had chosen not to attend. He was not on the list of clergy members invited to speak at the state funeral. But late Saturday, a spokesman for Archbishop Tutu said the archbishop would be traveling to Qunu for the funeral. | |
| In Mthatha, residents tried to see Mr. Mandela a final time as his cortege drove by. | In Mthatha, residents tried to see Mr. Mandela a final time 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 land of your ancestors. “You must bury him where he was born,” Ms. Mpopoma 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 land of your ancestors. “You must bury him where he was born,” Ms. Mpopoma said. “He must rest with his father’s fathers.” |
| It is not customary to issue invitations for a funeral in the Xhosa tradition, village elders said, because everyone is welcome. But others expressed frustration that they would not be permitted to attend Mr. Mandela’s funeral. | It is not customary to issue invitations for a funeral in the Xhosa tradition, village elders said, because everyone is welcome. But others expressed frustration that they would not be permitted to attend Mr. Mandela’s funeral. |
| “We are very disappointed that they didn’t let us see him,” said Sibongiseni Hloma, a clerk in the 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 courts here. “In our culture, funerals are for the whole community. Nobody is invited because everyone is invited.” |
| Nomanono Molletye, a 61-year-old grandmother who came out to greet the motorcade, said 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 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 state funeral will be held Sunday with extremely tight security under a domed marquee constructed for the occasion in the verdant hills adjacent to the house that Mr. Mandela built in Qunu. Security officers warned a young man near the cordon not to take a photo of the distant funeral site with his cellphone. | |
| Hours after the coffin had passed, a small group of mourners turned angry at not being able to attend the funeral, beginning an impromptu protest that briefly blocked traffic on the highway leading to Qunu. | Hours after the coffin had passed, a small group of mourners turned angry at not being able to attend the funeral, beginning an impromptu protest that briefly blocked traffic on the highway leading to Qunu. |
| “Are we still living in the apartheid era?” one woman shouted at police officers who pleaded with the crowd to get off the road. “All we want is to go to the funeral!” | “Are we still living in the apartheid era?” one woman shouted at police officers who pleaded with the crowd to get off the road. “All we want is to go to the funeral!” |
| A police officer chided the protesters. | A police officer chided the protesters. |
| “I am not going to tolerate any toyi-toying here,” he said, referring to the shuffling dance popularized as a form of protest during the apartheid era. | “I am not going to tolerate any toyi-toying here,” he said, referring to the shuffling dance popularized as a form of protest during the apartheid era. |
| “Where is the spirit of Madiba here?” a woman cried. | “Where is the spirit of Madiba here?” a woman cried. |
| The state funeral will be televised, and Mr. Mandela will be buried in a private ceremony for the family, the government said. | The state funeral will be televised, and Mr. Mandela will be buried in a private ceremony for the family, the government said. |
John Eligon contributed reporting from Qunu, South Africa. | John Eligon contributed reporting from Qunu, South Africa. |