A state burial will be held on Saturday to honor Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a powerful but polarizing Zulu prince who was connected to a wave of murderous violence that helped to establish modern South Africa.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) founder, who was once feared, passed away a week ago at the age of 95. Thousands are expected to pay respect.
The funeral will be held at Ulundi, the historical center of the Zulu kingdom and the IFP’s home territory, at a stadium.
On Friday, a sizable crowd came to accompany Buthelezi’s body to the family farm before the funeral.
Men dressed like Zulu warriors sang, danced, and stamped their feet while they waited for hours in the sweltering sun.
Some wore crowns with Buthelezi’s image on them while others carried shields and spears and were clad in leopard skins.
“We have lost such a powerful man; we need to take it all out and mourn, sing for him,” said Khaylalihle Buthelezi, 39, a relative who runs a guest house.
“He made us Zulu very proud.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has ordered flags to be flown at half mast across the country, will deliver a eulogy at the funeral.
“Buthelezi has been an outstanding leader in the political and cultural life of our nation, including the ebbs and flows of our liberation struggle,” Ramaphosa said, announcing the Zulu nationalist’s death last Saturday.
When Ramaphosa and his late boss Nelson Mandela oversaw negotiations to end white rule in South Africa, Buthelezi was a rival of both men.
His intense conflict with the governing African National Congress (ANC) defined him for years.
His political home until he split out to found the Inkatha movement in 1975 was the party, which has ruled since the first post-apartheid elections in 1994.
He was seen by some as the essence of the Zulu spirit: fierce and proud, having been born of royal lineage.
He resembled a warlord in the eyes of some.
