Qunu () is a Xhosa rural village in South Africa's

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Province, south-west of

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanz ...

on the road between

Dutywa Dutywa (formerly Idutywa) is a town in Mbashe Local Municipality, Eastern Cape province, South Africa, that was founded in 1858 as a military fort after a dispute between a Natal Colony raiding party and its local people.President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

was born near Qunu in the village

Mvezo Mvezo is a small village on the banks of the Mbashe River, not far from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The village is mainly known as being the birthplace of Nelson Mandela, whose family serves as its chiefly dynasty A dyn ...

next to the

Mbhashe River Mbhashe River is one of the major rivers in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It flows in a southeastern direction and has a catchment area of 6,030 km. The river drains into the Indian Ocean through an estuary located near the ligh ...

. He grew up in Qunu after his father was deposed as the chief of Mvezo. After his retirement, Mandela returned to Qunu. In his autobiography, ''Long Walk to Freedom'', Mandela describes Qunu as the place where he spent the happiest moments of his childhood. The remains of four of Mandela's children were originally buried here, but were exhumed by one of his grandsons, Mandla Mandela. Mandla reburied the remains in Mvezo, the village of which he was chief. On 3 July 2013 the Eastern Cape high court ruled that the remains should be moved back to Qunu.Mandla Mandela to go back to court over graves debacle
''

Mail and Guardian The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

'', Retrieved 6 May 2014 Shortly after this, King

Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo King Buyelekhaya Zwelinbanzi Dalindyebo KaSabata (born 5 April 1964), salutation name Zwelibanzi, is currently the king of abaThembu people of South Africa since the late 1980s to present day . Dalindyebo is the son of the previous king of AbaThem ...

relieved Mandla of his duties. On 15 December 2013, Nelson Mandela was buried in Qunu following a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

,"Mandela funeral brings together world's most powerful people"
''The Guardian''. Retrieved 6 December 2013. on his family's property in a spot he personally selected.

Gallery

File:Qunu Landscape.jpg, Landscape File:Mandela Residence in Qunu.jpg, Aerial view

References

External links

Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha and Qunu
Populated places in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality {{EasternCape-geo-stub