QUNU, South Africa - Songs, laughter, teasing and tender words marked Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebration as presidents, village elders and African royalty joined him for a festive luncheon on his rural homestead.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner celebrated privately with his family in this rural southeastern village Friday, the day he turned 90.
Saturday was a grand occasion, held in a tent outside his homestead in Qunu, 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of Johannesburg, where as a boy he herded cattle in the hills.
The anti-apartheid icon walked into the tent with his successor to the South African presidency, Thabo Mbeki, and African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma, stopping to personally greet some of the 500 guests as he made his way to the head table.
The guests, many dressed in traditional beaded cloths, animals skins and feather headdresses, stood and cheered while a Xhosa choir sang: "Here is our hope!"
Wearing, an intricately patterned shirt in shades of brown, Mandela looked relaxed and cheerful as he listened attentively to the accolades being heaped on him.
Mbeki called Mandela a "great liberator." Zuma said the gathering was a celebration of "a life and legacy of a father, grandfather, comrade, warrior, soldier, nation builder and statesman."
Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda caught the festive mood with a tuneful solo of "Happy Birthday," followed by a teasing verse: "How old are you? State secret!" Then the 84-year-old Kaunda jogged over to shake Mandela's hand.
The event also marked the 10th anniversary of his marriage to child rights activist Graca Machel and