Houames

Houames Is the name of a Mohammedan sect of roving licentious Arabians, who dwell in tents, as is the custom of the Arabians. "They have a particular law, by which they are commanded to perform their ceremonies and prayers under a pavilion, without an light, after which they lie with the first woman they can meet." Some followers of this sect are living concealed at Alexandria and other places. They are not tolerated by their fellow- countrymen, and are burnt alive if discovered. The name given them signifies in Arabic wicked, lascivious, or abominable persons. See Broughton, Biblioth. Hist. Sac. 1, 495. (J. H. W.)