The Secret Power of Kazakh Garb: Making College President Kazakhstan’s First Lady

Shalkar Nurseitov
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

Since yesterday Nicolas Cage has made the Kazakhs’ day. To be more accurate, memes of Mr. Cage’s blank facial expression while wearing a Kazakh shapan, a national garb given for distinguished guests as a symbol of great respect, went viral on social media and earned extensive media coverage. Some found a space for him next to Ivanka Trump in the famous Trump & Pope photo, which from today can be named as “Cage, Trump, and Pope.”

One meme even dubbed him as “Nicolas biy” (byi–elected judges served in Kazakhstan before the Russian colonization) and featured him as the fourth Kazakh byi along with Tole byi, Kazybek byi, and Aiteke byi. Taking into consideration the fact that the actual three byis symbolize justice in the Kazakh society, it’s not hard to imagine Mr. Cages’ high social status and popularity in present days in Kazakhstan :)

Tole byi, Kazybek bye, Aiteke byi, and Nicolas byi

Most importantly, those memes made by my fellow Kazakh citizens demonstrated that we, the Kazakh people, still have maintained a sense of humor, which is one of the most important assets in a country hosting an international fair despite the fact that it has tightened belts because of low prices for commodities. Unlike the Borat case, Kazakhstan’s political elite took the Cage & Shapan case easy. So far Kazakh politicians haven’t made any statement on memes depicting Mr. Cage and his world-renowned shapan.

In fact, a shapan has been an integral part of Kazakh culture and diplomacy since ancient times. As Kazakh blogger Bakhytzhan Bukharbayev writes, a shapan has been given for only highly respected figures in the Kazakh society and since 2014, when then French President Hollande’s photo wearing the shapan went viral, it has become a “diplomatic uniform.” Modern Kazakh diplomats like Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko, who appeared in a gorgeous shapan at the 2016 Eurasia Media Forum, is well aware of the power of the national attire in grabbing public attention, earning media coverages, and demonstrating the Kazakh culture and tradition to the world.

Roman Vassilenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. Image Credit: Bnews.kz

Since yesterday memes have also demonstrated the unknown magic power of the shapan: turning a university president into the First Lady of Kazakhstan, FLOK. New York Daily News erroneously featured President of the Kazakh National Academy of Music Aiman Mussakhajayeva, who poses next to Mr. Cage in his meme-worthy photo, as Sara Nazarbayeva, FLOK. It’s been a while since Sara Nazarbayeva and her name has been featured in the Kazakh media outlets, not to mention international ones. Thank you New York Daily News for reminding us, the Kazakh voters, about our first lady!

Nicolas Cage and Aiman Mussakhajayeva, President of the Kazakh National Academy of Music. Image Credit: Tengrinews

But New York Daily News and other Western media outlets, please next time make sure that you get names of Kazakh women posing next to Hollywood stars right while covering them. Or ask Google for a help. BTW, here is Sara Nazarbayeva’s actual photo.

Sara Nazarbayeva, Kazakhstan’s First Lady. Image Credit: Alchetron.com

Thanks to being a host country for numerous global events, Kazakhstan and its capital Astana have been in the international spotlight. If the main goal of hosting global events in Astana is to earn international media coverage and to increase awareness of Kazakhstan, then we had better pay attention to effective ways of highlighting our tradition and its elements while boasting about the success story of the Kazakh economy.

Yesterday my American friend asked on Facebook what Nic Cage was doing in Kazakhstan. Honestly, I didn’t know what he’s doing either. But New York Daily News knew what the purpose of Mr. Cage’s visit was: he was invited to take part in the International Eurasian Film Festival. Today we also know that the Kazakh shapan hasn’t only put Mr. Cage’s visit to Kazakhstan in the spotlight, but it also has reminded us, the Kazakh people, about the importance of our tradition in promoting the nation through earned media.

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