PHOTOS: Nelson Mandela Laid to Eternal Rest

South Africa buried Nelson Mandela on Sunday December 15, closing one chapter in its tortured history and opening another in which the multi-racial democracy he founded will have to discover if it can thrive without its central pillar.

The Nobel peace laureate, who was held in apartheid prisons for 27 years before emerging to preach forgiveness and reconciliation, was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Qunu.

At the graveside were 450 relatives, political leaders and foreign guests including Britain's Prince Charles, American civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson and talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

More photos after the cut... Former South African President Nelson Mandela's coffin arrives at the family gravesite for burial at his ancestral village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape province, 900 km south of Johannesburg, December 15, 2013.

Army helicopters carry South African flags over the burial ground of late Madiba.

 

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma (2nd L), the ex-wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela (L), and the widow of Mandela, Graca Machel (3rd L), sit by the coffin of Mandela during his funeral ceremony in Qunu.

Military personnel salute after the burial of former South African President Nelson Mandela in his ancestral village of Qunu. 

Source: Reuters