BBC News | AFRICA | Picture gallery: Emperor Haile Selassie's funeral

In a ceremony packed with tradition, colour and emotion, Haile Selassie's coffin was carried to a tomb in the city's Orthodox Cathedral, where the late emperor will now lie beside his wife. The remains of the late Ethiopian ruler, who is believed to have been murdered by followers of his Marxist successor Colonel Mengistu, were discovered nearly 10 years ago under a palace toilet.

A veteran of the 1930s struggle against Italian occupation grieves in front of the emperor's casket

Old soldiers carry the coffin in procession from the church where the remains have been kept since their discovery

Thousands of Ethiopians joined in the mourning, some overcome by emotion

Some of the mourners wore costumes illustrating Haile Selassie's title as the Lion of Judah

The late emperor is seen by some as a founding father of African independence, by others as a despot

To Rastafarians like the wife of Jamaican Reggae musician Bob Marley, Rita, he was a "living God"

The Cathedral, where the last ruling descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba will now lie


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