Undoing the Hottentoting of “the Queen of Punt” A Jamaican Afronography on the Kemetiu Depiction of Ati of Punt

The physical appearance of Ati, the co-ruling woman of Punt, often referred to as “the Queen of Punt,” as depicted in the pharaoh Hatshepsut’s “Voyage to Punt” has been subject to scholarly attention in the European academy. However, in this scholarship her appearance is disparaged as humorous or pathological which is reminiscent of the racist characterizations of Ssehura of the Khoi-Khoi people as the “Hottentot Venus.” This problem is termed as the “European Hottentot Complex” in this study. Recovering Ati from the European Hottentot Complex, this study provides an Afronography on the Kemetiu (ancient Egyptian) aesthetic perspective by examining the primary sources from a Jamaican cultural perspective through language. Subsequently, this study shows the transgenerational dimension of the Afrikan aesthetic norm that is expressed in the Jamaican notion of tiknis. Ultimately, this study locates the Kemetiu perspective on Ati of Punt within the context of tiknis.