South Africa celebrates Mandela on his 90th

Some came in exquisitely beaded traditional skins, others wore T-shirts emblazoned with his name, and Nelson Mandela welcomed all to the festive tent outside his home Saturday for the formal celebration of the anti-apartheid icon's 90th birthday.

Hundreds of guests stood and cheered and a Xhosa choir sang "Here is our hope!" at the entrance of Mandela — walking in with his successor as South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, and African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma. Mandela, wearing an intricately patterned shirt in shades of brown, stopped to personally greet a few of the 500 honored guests as he made his way to the head table.

Zuma called the gathering 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 Mandela to shake his hand.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner icon had celebrated privately with his family in his home village in the country's rural southeast on Friday, the day he turned 90. Saturday was a grand occasion at his homestead in Qunu, 600 miles south of Johannesburg where as a boy he herded cattle in the hills.

The party tent was decorated with the blue and orange colors of Mandela's Xhosa tribe and with his clan's crest — a bee flanked by tree branches, symbolizing industry, community and strength.

George Bizos was among the fellow veterans of the struggle to transform South Africa from a white supremacist pariah nation into a multiracial democracy who came to the party Saturday. He identified Mandela's optimism as his most "sterling quality.

"He always believed that there would be freedom around the corner," said Bizos, a lawyer who defended Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders during the era of white rule.

Tributes from Mbeki and others and performances by choirs and dancers were planned under the tent. As the party started, herd boys beat drums outside, while an orchestra played inside.

"Clearly, today is a very special day for all of us in South Africa and around the world," said Mac Maharaj, who served time with Mandela on Robben Island, and then served in Mandela's Cabinet.

Mandela was imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against apartheid. He was released in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended decades of racist white rule, then was elected president in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994.

He completed his term in 1999 and did not run again, but has continued to take a leading role in the fight against poverty, illiteracy and AIDS in Africa. Age has slowed him in recent years, but many still remain in awe of his stamina. Just last month he was the honored guest for a huge charity concert in London's Hyde Park.

"For a man of 90, he's in very good shape," one of his doctors, Peter Friedland, said at the party Saturday.

He looked and sounded vigorous Friday when he gave a brief interview to a small group of reporters from The Associated Press and other media, his first such exchange in several years. He was expected to address the party guests later Saturday.

During Friday's interview, he expressed deep concern at the poverty that still grips wide swaths of South Africa. The economy has grown steadily in recent years, but the benefits have yet to trickle to the poorest. Most blacks were stripped of resources and given inferior education under apartheid, leaving them unprepared to enjoy development now.

Mandela's message was simple — the wealthy must do more.

"There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate, who have not been able to conquer poverty," Mandela said Friday.

Friday was also the 10th anniversary of his marriage to his third wife, Graca Machel.

Flowers were arranged in vases of tin, a traditional material for 10th anniversary gifts, at the head table Saturday. His children and grandchildren had put together an album of family photographs and testimonials as a gift, bound in aluminum, another 10th anniversary material.