Cape Town hosted an interfaith service Wednesday to honor Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
The event at City Hall was attended by members of Tutu’s family, along with Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, traditional African and Muslim leaders.
Many of the attendees wore purple honoring Tutu, who often wore purple robes.
The Indigenous Khoisan people also paid tribute to Tutu while wearing animal skins and lifting up an animal skull.
The end of the musical ceremony was marked with a rendition of a 1980 South African hit song, “Paradise Road,” which became a sort of anthem in the fight against apartheid.
It is just one of many tributes to Tutu being held this week following his death Sunday at the age of 90.
Tutu is due to lie in state Thursday and Friday at St. George’s Cathedral, his former parish in Cape Town.
A funeral Saturday will be limited to 100 attendees because of coronavirus restrictions. Tutu’s ashes will later be interred at the cathedral’s mausoleum.
Each day this week, the bells at the cathedral are tolling for 10 minutes, and a guest book was placed outside for mourners to sign.
Tutu, a Nobel peace laureate, was known worldwide for anti-apartheid activism and as a champion of human rights.
Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Related Posts
