Also present at the Houghton house during Nelson Mandela’s passing was Reverend Vukile Mehana, who was standing in for Bishop Siwa to perform the last rites. Mehana had also visited Mandela when he was in hospital in Pretoria, during which time he and other Methodist clerics “kept close to him and the family and very quietly would go and minister to him. For us as people of the church that he belonged to, it was not for the cameras: for us it was a ministry to the family and to him,” says Mehana.
Throughout the time that Mandela was in a coma, those ministers were present, ready to be called on to attend to him. All of them, especially Bishop Siwa and the general secretary of the SACC, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church, were “always prepared for any eventuality”, and “journeyed with the family as the Methodist Church leadership”, Mehana asserts. For Mandela’s last rites, Mehana held a service that was attended by the entire Mandela family.
Mehana describes Mandela’s passing as “so peaceful”, and declares, “I know he is resting in God’s arms. I know that.”
Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana was also at the Mandela residence on the night of the former president’s death. He was in a private room, saying a prayer from Mandela’s favourite Bible verse, Numbers 6: 24–26: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.”
Bishop Mpumlwana had been reciting the verse at around 8.50pm on December 5 2013, and only found out later that Mandela had died while he was saying this prayer.
Not at Mandela’s bedside was his friend and personal chaplain, Bishop Don Dabula, who had been summoned by the Mandela family but was unable to get a flight to Johannesburg from Transkei that evening.
After performing the last rites, Mehana called his colleague, Reverend Vido Nyobole, to inform him of Mandela’s death, so he could go ahead with the coordination of the funeral.
President Jacob Zuma made the announcement later that night, telling the world South Africa had “lost its greatest son”.
Five days after Mandela’s death, on December 10 2013, an official memorial service to commemorate his life was held at FNB stadium in Johannesburg.
Mandela’s body lay in state for three days, from December 11 to 13. One hundred thousand people passed through the Union Buildings in Pretoria to pay homage to the former president. As demanded by Xhosa custom, Mandla Mandela sat stoically by his grandfather’s side during the occasion.
On Saturday December 15 2013, Graca Machel displayed her generosity of spirit as she stood waiting with Mandela’s second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, at Waterkloof Air Force Base to hand over his body to the ANC.
From Waterkloof, Mandela’s coffin was placed on a military transport flight to Mthatha for his burial in Qunu. When the coffin arrived in Mthatha, personnel from the army, navy and air force received it into their care. AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo was also present at the airport to receive the body of his uncle.
From the airport the funeral cortège journeyed to Qunu, passing cheering crowds who had lined the streets to say farewell to the founding father of democratic South Africa. Over 12000 soldiers were scattered throughout Mthatha to ensure calm.
For the ANC, who had laid claim to Mandela’s body and his political legacy, the peaceful and well-planned events surrounding their former leader’s farewell were a matter of honour. It was also their way of acknowledging the monumental role Mandela had played as the first commander-in-chief of Umkhonto we Sizwe.
By choosing to be laid to rest in Qunu, Mandela was making a permanent return to his childhood home, where his people, the Xhosa tribe, were claiming him as their own again. They had summoned him to them after his death when they sent a small branch from an African wild olive tree, the spirit tree of the Xhosa people, to his house in Johannesburg, where a family member used it to address Mandela’s spirit and persuade it to go back home to Qunu.
The branch-bearer then had to travel with the branch to Qunu without speaking to anyone throughout the journey, so as to prevent Mandela’s spirit from being disturbed in “its metaphysical carrying case”.
In Qunu, Mandela’s coffin, draped with the South African flag, was swathed in the skin of a lion, which is an honour Xhosa tribes reserve for those of high rank. It had previously been draped with the ANC flag, which had been handed over to a tearful Machel at Waterkloof Air Force Base.
A family elder remained close to the coffin to talk to the body’s spirit. This tradition, known as thetha, allows the spirit to be aware of what is going on before its burial, because, “when the body lies there, the spirit is still alive”, said Reverend Wesley Mabuza, the chairman of South Africa’s Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities.
On the same day, an ox was slaughtered and eaten. (Another ox would be killed a year after the funeral to signal the end of the mourning period.)
Altogether, the rites and events carried out to honour Mandela in death represented “an eclectic mix of traditional rituals, Christian elements and the military honours of a state funeral”. They reflected the capacity Mandela had displayed in life to assimilate many viewpoints and traditions.
On the day of the funeral, December 15 2013, a marquee accommodated the 4500 guests.
These included the Prince of Wales, Baptist minister and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda and former president Thabo Mbeki.
One surprise attendee was Mandela’s good friend and political and spiritual advisor Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had previously stated that he would not be attending the funeral because he had not been invited. A number of people spoke out against Tutu’s exclusion, including Bantu Holomisa, president of the United Democratic Movement, who said “Mandela and Tutu were like brothers. Mandela had time for Tutu and Tutu had time for Mandela. It doesn’t sound good at all”.
It was only after a last-minute intervention by then minister in the presidency Trevor Manuel that the archbishop was allowed to attend.
Because of his late inclusion, Tutu had no role in the funeral ceremony itself. He was at least seated next to Reverend Nyobole, Bishop Siwa and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, and Nyobole ensured that Tutu played a part in the burial ceremony that followed.
Once all the guests were seated, Mandela’s casket was carried in by senior SANDF officers, with Jacob Zuma and Mandla Mandela following behind. The coffin was laid out on a carpet of Nguni cattle skins on a podium facing the attendees, while 95 candles, representing each year of Mandela’s life, burnt behind it. Cyril Ramaphosa, the man Mandela had hoped would succeed him as president, presided.
During the ceremony, Mandela’s old comrade, confidant and fellow political prisoner, Ahmed Kathrada, spoke of the road both men had travelled since they had met in 1948, and which he would now have to walk alone. Kathrada had outlived all of the old stalwarts who had once made up the ANC’s elite: Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, and now Nelson Mandela.
Talking about this loss of South Africa’s greatest political activists, he said despairingly: “When Walter died, I lost a father and now I have lost a brother. My life is in a void and I don’t know who to turn to.”
At the request of the Mandela family, Mandela’s burial was a private affair attended by only 450 guests. The burial party walked behind the gun carriage that carried the casket to the graveside, where Mandela’s family stood with Archbishop Tutu, Bishop Siwa, Archbishop Makgoba, SACC secretary general Bishop Mpumlwana, ANC chaplain general Reverend Mehana, funeral coordinator Reverend Nyobole, and Mandela’s good friend from the Methodist Church, Bishop Dabula.
The clerics would together conduct this last part of Mandela’s funeral service.
Following a military ceremony, the care of Mandela’s soul was handed over to Bishops Siwa and Dabula, who did the final committal of Mandela’s body to the ground.
The ministers performed a typical Christian burial liturgy, including the recitation of the phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” by Bishop Dabula when Mandela’s soul was committed to God. When it was time for the tombstone to be blessed, Tutu stepped forward to honour his old friend.
That Sunday, 83 years after he had set out from Qunu with his mother for the Great Place, Mandela was buried on a hill in his childhood home, next to the graves of his parents and three of his children, sons Thembi and Makgatho, and his daughter Makaziwe, who had died in infancy.
Bishop Dabula is honoured that Mandela’s last wish was to be buried as a Methodist. “When he was active in politics, he belonged to all, but he wanted the religious rites at his funeral to be performed by Methodist ministers,” he says through tears.
With this last request, Mandela had confirmed his love for the church that had nurtured his spirituality and helped to mould him into the man who would inspire millions towards a common idea of non-racialism and reconciliation.
The Spiritual Mandela (Zebra Press: 2016) is available at bookstores nationwide.
Meaning of Mandela’s last wish
Throughout the time that Mandela was in a coma, those ministers were present, ready to be called on to attend to him. All of them, especially Bishop Siwa and the general secretary of the SACC, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church, were “always prepared for any eventuality”, and “journeyed with the family as the Methodist Church leadership”, Mehana asserts. For Mandela’s last rites, Mehana held a service that was attended by the entire Mandela family.
Mehana describes Mandela’s passing as “so peaceful”, and declares, “I know he is resting in God’s arms. I know that.”
Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana was also at the Mandela residence on the night of the former president’s death. He was in a private room, saying a prayer from Mandela’s favourite Bible verse, Numbers 6: 24–26: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.”
Bishop Mpumlwana had been reciting the verse at around 8.50pm on December 5 2013, and only found out later that Mandela had died while he was saying this prayer.
Not at Mandela’s bedside was his friend and personal chaplain, Bishop Don Dabula, who had been summoned by the Mandela family but was unable to get a flight to Johannesburg from Transkei that evening.
After performing the last rites, Mehana called his colleague, Reverend Vido Nyobole, to inform him of Mandela’s death, so he could go ahead with the coordination of the funeral.
President Jacob Zuma made the announcement later that night, telling the world South Africa had “lost its greatest son”.
Five days after Mandela’s death, on December 10 2013, an official memorial service to commemorate his life was held at FNB stadium in Johannesburg.
Mandela’s body lay in state for three days, from December 11 to 13. One hundred thousand people passed through the Union Buildings in Pretoria to pay homage to the former president. As demanded by Xhosa custom, Mandla Mandela sat stoically by his grandfather’s side during the occasion.
On Saturday December 15 2013, Graca Machel displayed her generosity of spirit as she stood waiting with Mandela’s second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, at Waterkloof Air Force Base to hand over his body to the ANC.
From Waterkloof, Mandela’s coffin was placed on a military transport flight to Mthatha for his burial in Qunu. When the coffin arrived in Mthatha, personnel from the army, navy and air force received it into their care. AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo was also present at the airport to receive the body of his uncle.
From the airport the funeral cortège journeyed to Qunu, passing cheering crowds who had lined the streets to say farewell to the founding father of democratic South Africa. Over 12000 soldiers were scattered throughout Mthatha to ensure calm.
For the ANC, who had laid claim to Mandela’s body and his political legacy, the peaceful and well-planned events surrounding their former leader’s farewell were a matter of honour. It was also their way of acknowledging the monumental role Mandela had played as the first commander-in-chief of Umkhonto we Sizwe.
By choosing to be laid to rest in Qunu, Mandela was making a permanent return to his childhood home, where his people, the Xhosa tribe, were claiming him as their own again. They had summoned him to them after his death when they sent a small branch from an African wild olive tree, the spirit tree of the Xhosa people, to his house in Johannesburg, where a family member used it to address Mandela’s spirit and persuade it to go back home to Qunu.
The branch-bearer then had to travel with the branch to Qunu without speaking to anyone throughout the journey, so as to prevent Mandela’s spirit from being disturbed in “its metaphysical carrying case”.
In Qunu, Mandela’s coffin, draped with the South African flag, was swathed in the skin of a lion, which is an honour Xhosa tribes reserve for those of high rank. It had previously been draped with the ANC flag, which had been handed over to a tearful Machel at Waterkloof Air Force Base.
A family elder remained close to the coffin to talk to the body’s spirit. This tradition, known as thetha, allows the spirit to be aware of what is going on before its burial, because, “when the body lies there, the spirit is still alive”, said Reverend Wesley Mabuza, the chairman of South Africa’s Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities.
On the same day, an ox was slaughtered and eaten. (Another ox would be killed a year after the funeral to signal the end of the mourning period.)
Altogether, the rites and events carried out to honour Mandela in death represented “an eclectic mix of traditional rituals, Christian elements and the military honours of a state funeral”. They reflected the capacity Mandela had displayed in life to assimilate many viewpoints and traditions.
On the day of the funeral, December 15 2013, a marquee accommodated the 4500 guests.
These included the Prince of Wales, Baptist minister and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda and former president Thabo Mbeki.
One surprise attendee was Mandela’s good friend and political and spiritual advisor Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had previously stated that he would not be attending the funeral because he had not been invited. A number of people spoke out against Tutu’s exclusion, including Bantu Holomisa, president of the United Democratic Movement, who said “Mandela and Tutu were like brothers. Mandela had time for Tutu and Tutu had time for Mandela. It doesn’t sound good at all”.
It was only after a last-minute intervention by then minister in the presidency Trevor Manuel that the archbishop was allowed to attend.
Because of his late inclusion, Tutu had no role in the funeral ceremony itself. He was at least seated next to Reverend Nyobole, Bishop Siwa and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, and Nyobole ensured that Tutu played a part in the burial ceremony that followed.
Once all the guests were seated, Mandela’s casket was carried in by senior SANDF officers, with Jacob Zuma and Mandla Mandela following behind. The coffin was laid out on a carpet of Nguni cattle skins on a podium facing the attendees, while 95 candles, representing each year of Mandela’s life, burnt behind it. Cyril Ramaphosa, the man Mandela had hoped would succeed him as president, presided.
During the ceremony, Mandela’s old comrade, confidant and fellow political prisoner, Ahmed Kathrada, spoke of the road both men had travelled since they had met in 1948, and which he would now have to walk alone. Kathrada had outlived all of the old stalwarts who had once made up the ANC’s elite: Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, and now Nelson Mandela.
Talking about this loss of South Africa’s greatest political activists, he said despairingly: “When Walter died, I lost a father and now I have lost a brother. My life is in a void and I don’t know who to turn to.”
At the request of the Mandela family, Mandela’s burial was a private affair attended by only 450 guests. The burial party walked behind the gun carriage that carried the casket to the graveside, where Mandela’s family stood with Archbishop Tutu, Bishop Siwa, Archbishop Makgoba, SACC secretary general Bishop Mpumlwana, ANC chaplain general Reverend Mehana, funeral coordinator Reverend Nyobole, and Mandela’s good friend from the Methodist Church, Bishop Dabula.
The clerics would together conduct this last part of Mandela’s funeral service.
Following a military ceremony, the care of Mandela’s soul was handed over to Bishops Siwa and Dabula, who did the final committal of Mandela’s body to the ground.
The ministers performed a typical Christian burial liturgy, including the recitation of the phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” by Bishop Dabula when Mandela’s soul was committed to God. When it was time for the tombstone to be blessed, Tutu stepped forward to honour his old friend.
That Sunday, 83 years after he had set out from Qunu with his mother for the Great Place, Mandela was buried on a hill in his childhood home, next to the graves of his parents and three of his children, sons Thembi and Makgatho, and his daughter Makaziwe, who had died in infancy.
Bishop Dabula is honoured that Mandela’s last wish was to be buried as a Methodist. “When he was active in politics, he belonged to all, but he wanted the religious rites at his funeral to be performed by Methodist ministers,” he says through tears.
With this last request, Mandela had confirmed his love for the church that had nurtured his spirituality and helped to mould him into the man who would inspire millions towards a common idea of non-racialism and reconciliation.
The Spiritual Mandela (Zebra Press: 2016) is available at bookstores nationwide.
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