Display: The coffin of former South African President Nelson Mandela is seen draped in a South African national flag during his funeral in his ancestral village of Qunu
Respect: Candles are lit under a portrait of Nelson Mandela before his funeral. One for every year of his life
Honor: A gun salute is fired as the funeral procession nears the Mandela family compound
Dignitaries: Prince Charles, right, arrives for the state funeral on Sunday
Historic figure: Thousands of people are paying tribute to South Africa 's first black president
Anti-apartheid leader and South Africa's first black President died in his Johannesburg home on December 5, at the age of 95.
The funeral includes traditions of Mandela's Thembu clan, as well as a 21-gun salute, brass band and fly over by jets. Elders in traditional funeral attire out of respect for Mandela and his family sang old struggle songs as they lined the road to greet the funeral cortege.
An ox was to be slaughtered, the deceased was wrapped in a leopard skin and a family elder continued to talk to the body's spirit throughout the service. The occasion also included elements more often seen in a Christian burial and at a state funeral, including prayers and the national anthem.
The leopard skin signifies Mandela's status as a high-ranking official. Because he was also a former statesman, the casket was covered in the flag.
Following a tradition called Thetha, Xhosa culture requires a family elder to stay with Mandela's body and explain to his spirit what is happening.
'When the body lies there, the spirit is still alive,' the Rev Wesley Mabuza, chairman of South Africa's Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the right of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, said.
Mandela's widow Graca Machel arrived ahead of the casket to honor the tradition of being home to receive his body.
As the coffin arrived in the white tent for the state funeral, all guests except the family stood, and the choir sung Lizalis' idinga Iakho.
It was placed in the centre of the domed tent, on top of a cattle skin. His widow, Machel, and first wife, Winnie Mandela, then walked into the tent hand in hand. His children from both marriages were sat in the front row, with president Jacob Zuma between them.
Family said they had been reuniting by Machel and Winnie's show of friendship.
A central feature in the tent was a large picture of Mandela, placed behind 95 lit candles, one for each year of his long and full life.
But he left us to 'join the A-team of the ANC,' Kathrada said, as he named those who alongside Mandela had struggled for freedom.
He added: 'It is up to the present generation and generations to come to take up the cudgels when you have left, and take up the challenges South Africa faces today.'
Over the past week it has sometimes seemed that everyone was trying to claim a piece of the great man – and that dignity was sometimes lacking – but he was at last back among his own people. In the little time left before he is committed to the ground today, the elders of his tribe have promised to do things differently.
State funeral: Mandela's coffin is carried into the white tent for the service
Support: African National Congress supporters chant before the start of the funeral
Dignitaries: Anti-apartheid activist and friend Ahmed Kathrada, right, with former South Africa president Thabo Mbeki
As the state funeral got underway, the national anthem, God Bless Africa, was performed. The anthem is sung in five languages - three African as well as Afrikaans and English.
Deputy leader of the ANC Cyril Ramaphosa spoke at the funeral, explaining that in accordance with cultural traditions, they planned to lay Mandela to rest at noon 'When the sun is at hits highest and shadows are at its shortest'.
United in grief: Mandela's widow Graca Machel, above, and his former wife Winnie, below, arrived holding hands and sat together for the service
He told the mourners he agreed with president Jacob Zuma, who called Mandela South Africa's greatest son: 'Indeed today, the person who lies here today is South Africa's greatest son.'
Ramaphosa also welcomed royalty and presidents from Africa and around the world, including Prince Charles, and the Prince of Monaco.
When Chief Ngangamhlaba Matanzima, a cousin and spokesman for the Mandela family addressed the service he criticised those who had booed President Zuma during the memorial at the stadium. He added that the fake sign language interpreter had been an embarrassment to the nation.
Wearing a leopard skin to show his status as a chief, Matanzima asked the medical team who cared for Mandela to stand while they were applauded.
The next speaker was Ahmed Kathrada, a friend and anti-apartheid activist who was imprisoned alongside Mandela on Robben Island for more than 20 years.
He spoke fondly of his last meeting with Mandela, and how it brought back memories of when they first met 67 years ago, when he was a 'tall, healthy, strong man. The boxer, the prisoner who easily wielded the pick and shovel ... and vigorously exercised every morning.'
Mourners: US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, centre, her husband Stedman Graham, left, and English businessman Richard Branson, right, watching the funeral service
Traditional: Mandla Mandela right, grandson of former South African president Nelson Mandela, during his grandfather's funeral
His final journey to his farm in the sleepy village of Qunu, his ancestral home in the Transkei region of the Eastern Cape, lasted all day.
'As everyone here would see it, the world's most famous prisoner, this country's first black president, is now home,' BBC correspondent Mike Woolridge tweeted.
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Tradition: Mandela's casket, covered in the nation's flag, was placed on a cattle skin as the service combined elements of traditional and state funerals
Final goodbye: The flag-draped casket of South Africa's first black president arrives in Mandela's village
Coming home: A parade of servicemen lead the casket to the funeral
Home at last: Military officers and Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela, rear, accompany the casket of the former South African President as it arrives in Qunu
Journey's end: The hearse carrying the coffin of former South African president Nelson Mandela passes by the tent dome set up in Qunu for his funeral
Tradition: Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela, right, watches as local chiefs escort the lion skin draped casket of former South African President as it arrives at the Mandela residence in Qunu
Winnie Mandela (left), ex-wife of former South African President, and Graca Macel, widow of Mandela, wipe away tears as his flag-draped coffin arrives at the Mthata airport
In an operation led by the military, the journey began at dawn at Pretoria’s air force base Waterkloof, where 1,000 members of the ANC gave him an exuberant send-off, with singing and dancing beneath a hangar decked out in the party colours of green, black and gold.
Accompanied by family members, tribal elders and senior government figures, the coffin was then flown 550 miles to Mthatha airport, about 20 miles from Qunu.
Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, and his ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela travelled separately from the coffin, in accordance with tribal tradition, and were seen comforting each other as it arrived.
A military guard of honour stands to attention at the Mandela family's homestead in Qunu. Mandela, the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and one of the towering political figures of the 20th century, died in Johannesburg on December 5 at age 95
