It doesn’t
look much for a man who had so much influence in world
Cemetery ... Mandela family graves
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THIS humble patch of overgrowth is
destined to be the resting place of a man who changed the face of global
politics -Nelson Mandela.
The anti-apartheid hero — he is
known by his clan name Madiba in these parts — appears to be rallying after
battling with a persistent lung infection.
But in his home village of Qunu in
South Africa’s remote Eastern Cape, they are preparing to welcome their famous
son home for good.
Hero ... Nelson Mandela
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And Mandela has made it known he
wants this to be his final resting place.
The half-acre Mandela memorial
ground is away from the main highway, down a rutted dirt track past grazing cows,
goats and chickens.
To many, he’s the political
prisoner-turned-president who cast off the shackles of a ruling white
minority’s brutal racism. And as a former president he’s entitled to a lavish
state funeral in Pretoria with global dignitaries bowing their heads.
But for Qunu, it will be goodbye to
the boy elders used to call Rolihlahla — the “trouble-maker” — who was
christened Nelson by teachers searching for an easier name.
And for the Xhosa people of the
Eastern Cape, it’s tradition to be buried where you are born, alongside your
relations.
Among the headstones there’s
Nelson’s father Mphakanyiswa who died in 1931, his mother Nosekeni Fanny, who
died in 1967 and there is one for his sister Baliwe, buried in the 1980s when
he was languishing in prison.
But the two most heart-rending
graves are for Nelson’s daughter Makaziwe, who died aged nine months, and son
Thembekile, killed in a car accident aged 22.
Hut ... like Mandela family home
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Ray Collins
They were originally in a cemetery
in Soweto, Johannesburg, but Mandela ordered their bodies to be exhumed and
re-buried in Qunu in 1998.
Frail Mandela’s last visit to Qunu
was nine months ago.
Clan member Zimisele Gamakhulu, who
met him on that trip, admitted: “No-one knows where his final resting place
will be. But in our tradition we come back to where we were born. It is custom
for family members to come to speak to their ancestors. It is easier when they
are all in one place.
“When Madiba was released from
prison, it was just 60 metres from here in 1991 that he was washed to cleanse
himself of bad luck.
“His mother used to live in a house
overlooking the cemetery.
“It will surprise many if he is not
buried here. It does not look much for a man who had so much influence in the
world.”
Mandela had a gated Tuscan-style
mansion built on the main road in Qunu on his release from prison.
When he fell ill last year, he
announced he wanted to be back in the village with family and friends.
Zimisele, 46, said: “It will be a
mixture of a Christian and traditional funeral. A cow will be slaughtered, and
a priest will preside over the ceremony. His kinsmen — his cousins — will lower
the coffin.
“If it isn’t controlled, there could
be hundreds of thousands making a pilgrimage here.
“Our tradition has it that enough
cattle and sheep have to be provided to feed all the guests. It’s going to be
hard!”
Alice Ngcebetshana, 84, will only
have to stand on the porch of her simple home to watch any funeral in the
adjacent graveyard — a patch certain to become sacred ground.
She said: “After his mother and
father died, what struck me was his dignity and discipline.
“I’m so proud for what he has
achieved in the world, in South Africa — and also in Qunu.
“When he came out of prison he built
his house up the road and insisted all the villagers like him should have
electricity and water.
“He hosted birthdays for the
children, and when he returned at Christmas time all the villagers were given
groceries. We talked about old times when I went to his house last year.
“He was frail then, but we haven’t
given up on him. Tonight we are all gathering in a house to say our prayers.
He’s our son. He hasn’t forgotten us — we will not forget him in his hour of
need.”
Nelson treat
NELSON Mandela had his spirits
lifted yesterday — by cute toddlers singing nursery rhymes outside his
hospital.
Children from Ring-Ting kindergarten
belted out a succession of tunes.
Other school pupils attached
balloons and get well cards to the gates of Pretoria Heart Hospital. Mandela is
said to be improving but still in a serious condition with a lung infection.
One message to the anti-apartheid
crusader read: “The colour of one’s skin don’t matter no more.” Another added
simply: “We need you.”
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