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SocietySouth Africa

Desmond Tutu remembered with song and dance at memorial

December 29, 2021

A colorful memorial to anti-Apartheid icon Desmond Tutu mixed tearful farewells with songs and musical tributes. The interfaith ceremony in Cape Town came ahead of Tutu's funeral this weekend.

https://p.dw.com/p/44y5R
Women sing and dance at a memorial service held for Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
Women sing and dance at a memorial service held for the late Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu outside his Soweto home in South AfricaImage: Shiraaz Mohamed/AP Photo/picture alliance

Mourners paid tribute to the life and spirit of the late anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu in an interfaith service in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The memorial is one of several leading up to Tutu's funeral service in Cape Town this weekend.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who was a fierce advocate for human rights around the world, passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday.

Honoring Tutu in dance and song

Tutu's family members were joined by politicians and leaders from many different faiths for a memorial at Cape Town's city hall.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Traditional African religious leaders offered prayers. Indigenous Khoisan leaders honored Tutu at the ceremony.

The lively memorial included tearful goodbyes, as well as musical tributes.

Clerics and officials appear on stage at the start of memorial service for Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
The interfaith service included religious leaders from numerous faithsImage: Nardus Engelbrecht/AP Photo/picture alliance

But the moment that brought spectators to their feet came during a performance of the 1980s hit "Paradise Road," that was sung by South African singer Zolani Mahola.

A performance by the South African Youth Choir and guitarist Jonathan Butler — whose music was popular during the struggle against apartheid — also prompted spectators to stand.

A rabbi and a Buddhist monk were among those to join in the dancing.

The festive spirit of the memorial — which had limited attendance due to coronavirus curbs — reflected the impact that Tutu had on South Africa and around the world.

"If we all live our lives just taking a small amount of the values that he lived with, can you imagine the different world, the different country... (and) the change that will be made?" Alan Winde, the Western Cape premier, said.

Donning purple

Many of those who came to pay tribute to Tutu donned purple in honor of the archbishop's famous purple robes.

Donning traditional garb and animal skins, Khoisan religious leaders held an animal skull aloft during a prayer for Desmond Tutu
Donning traditional garb and animal skins, Khoisan religious leaders held an animal skull aloft during a prayer for Desmond TutuImage: Rodger Bosch/AFP

Purple glowed in and around Cape Town, as the City Hall building and famous Table Mountain have been lit up in memory of Tutu this week.

Tutu, who was the first Black person to become an archbishop in the Anglican church, will be laid to rest at a funeral this Saturday.

South Africa is holding a series of memorial events in the run-up to the funeral service at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town. The site of his funeral is particularly poignant, as Tutu had led marches and campaigns to end white-minority rule in South Africa under apartheid.

Tutu will be cremated and his ashes will be interred beneath the floor of the cathedral.

rs/fb (AFP, Reuters)