Half a world away from where he died in a burst of police gunfire, Amadou Diallo's family embraced sacred Muslim traditions as they prepared to bury him today alongside his ancestors.

Diallo, who lived in Singapore and Bangkok before moving to New York City, last visited this village two years ago, just before he migrated to America.

Many in the slain 22-year-old's hometown know his family and have been affected by his murder.

Hours before dawn today, the cortege was to leave the capital city of Conakry for the 280-mile journey to the Diallo family's village in the northeastern region of the country. "It is very important that our son return home and is buried in his home village," said Saikou Diallo, 57, Amadou's father. "We want our children and our children's children not to forget him."

Upon arrival here, the family was to take Diallo's coffin to a mosque where relatives were to pray. Diallo's name is written with a black marker across the pine coffin.

Thousands were expected to make the arduous trek to the rural village, some from as far as New York City.

This afternoon, Diallo's family will hold a second service at a cemetery on the family estate, where ancestors have been buried for 300 years.

The Diallo compound, which is called Hollande, is about the size of the Great Lawn in Central Park.

The procession will wind past fields and more than a dozen homestoward the cemetery, which is on the eastern edge under a giant ling tree. Diallo's grandfather's grave is nearby.

Mourners are expected to number in the thousands because President Lansana Conte has ordered all leaders of the Fulani tribe, the largest in the nation of 7.6 million, to attend the burial.

Once the service begins, a group of young local men will dig Diallo's grave, assuring he is buried in fresh earth.