South Africa's first black president has been laid to rest at his rural childhood home after family, friends and dignitaries attended a state funeral service filled with emotional eulogies.
Nelson Mandela was buried on Sunday at the family plot at his ancestral home in Qunu, watched by his widow Graca Machel, ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, other family members and about 450 selected guests.
As the coffin was lowered into the grave, three army helicopters flew over bearing the South African flag on weighted cables. A battery fired a 21-gun salute before five fighter jets flying low in formation roared over the valley.
Among the mourners at the private burial ceremony were relatives, political leaders and foreign guests including Britain's Prince Charles, American civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson and talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
While the formal section of the state funeral was broadcast live to the world, the burial rituals were closed to the public on the wishes of the Mandela family.
