I don't know if it's the same Hoti, but there's a Buddha figure known as a Hoti, pronounced Hoe-tie, with stress on the first syllable.

This particular figure shows the very pot-bellied Buddha raising his arms into the air in a position akin to holding up a cloud, if memory serves me correctly. It's considered a good luck figure, and most of those I have seen have been of bronze with the tummy well polished from rubbing it for luck.

Edit: I knew I should have looked it up. Most google sites have it Hotei, not Hoti, though I am sure I'd seen it Hoti before. Mayhaps it's not the same.


TEd