Hotep is an Egyptian word that roughly translates as "to be satisfied, a...
Hotep: An offering table that is set before the gods.
Certain pharaohs names connected to the word Hotep to the god. Amun hotep,
Mentuhotep. In this form Hotep means pleasing to the god, The name of the physician
Imhotep means bringer of peace. It is used as a greeting by many today
Hotep is an Egyptian word that roughly translates as
"to be satisfied, at peace". The word also refers to an
"offering" ritually presented to a deity or a dead person, hence
"be pleased, be gracious, be at peace". It is rendered in hieroglyphs
as an altar/offering table. The noun ḥtp.w means "peace, contentment
According to Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, Temple University’s
Chair of African American Studies, hotep has been used as a greeting among some
back people since at least the 1970s. Reporter D.L. Chandler recalled hearing
the greeting in the 1980s. A letter to the editor of The Black Collegian in
1990 used the greeting hotep.
In particular, hotep is used as a greeting by adherents of
Afrocentrism, a movement that looks to African history to inform values for the
black diaspora. Afrocentrists often look to Ancient Egypt as the source of
African culture, hence the adoption of the Egyptian term hotep.
