Mr Nelson Mandela Laid to rest [funeral in pictures ]

A state funeral for Nelson Mandela in his ancestral home of Qunu ends a week of commemorations for South Africa's first black president.

Mr Mandela was laid to rest following a short graveside sermon by Bishop Siwa. As a military bugler played the Last Post, followed by Reveille, the pall bearers saluted and then withdrew as did the cameras, allowing the Mandela family a private moment at the graveside.

THE FUNERAL IN PICTURES

                     During the funeral Jacob Zuma told the country it was incumbent on them to carry on Mandela's legacy

The final journey: Nelson Mandela's coffin was carried by coffin bearers in Qunu, the late South African leader's childhood home

 

The funeral service was held in a huge tent, its interior draped in black

 

The coffin was followed into the tent by Mandela's grandson and heir, Mandla

 

 

(L-R) Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Mandela Madikizela, South African President Jacob Zuma and widow Graca Machel

 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former South African President Thabo Mbeki greet each other before the funeral

                                                           The coffin was draped in traditional cowhides and the South African national flag.