Nelson Mandela's state funeral begun Sunday in his ancestral village of Qunu, dpa reported.
Around 4,500 people, including several foreign heads of state and celebrities, are attending the service in a giant marquee erected at his home in Eastern Cape province.
South Africa's first black president, who is revered for overseeing a peaceful end to three centuries of racist white rule, will be buried afterwards in a plot on his property, next to family members.