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The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria. For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering of different colours and nations for the installation of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.
Explanation:
The ceremonies were held in the Union Buildings. The buildings are considered as the official seat of the South African government, and at the same time, they also house the offices of the South African President. These majestic structures are in Pretoria, one of South Africa’s three capital cities. Cape Town is the legislative capital whereas Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.
The Union Buildings form a kind of amphitheatre, which was where the ceremony had taken place Since the buildings were made up of sandstone, Mandela calls the space the "lovely sandstone amphitheatre".
Mandela adds that the Union Buildings had been the centre of white dominance for decades. However, the ceremony had instead made it the location of a rainbow gathering of people of all colours and nationalities to form South Africa's first democratic, non-racial government.
Sl. No | Words | Meanings |
1 | Sandstone | A low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through it |
2 | Amphitheatre | A semicircular seating gallery in a theatre; a very large auditorium |
3 | Pretoria | A city in and the administrative capital of the Republic of South Africa |
4 | Decade | A period of ten years |
5 | White | Belonging to or denoting a human group having light-coloured skin (chiefly used of peoples of European extraction) |
6 | Supremacy | The state or condition of being superior to all others in authority, power, or status |
7 | Rainbow | A wide range of related and typically colourful things |
8 | Democratic | Relating to or supporting democracy or its principles (Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.) |
9 | Racial | Relating to the major groupings into which humankind is sometimes divided on the basis of physical characteristics or shared ancestry |
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2007). First Flight. Nelson Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (pp. 16 - 23). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi..
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