Ayin means "rite" or "ceremony" in Turkish. Although used to signify other types of worship, the term, an abbreviation of ayin-i şerif , is employed by the Mevlevīs (also known as the "Whirling Dervishes") to refer to music that accompanies their mystical ritual (the semāʿ ). It is a complex programme of instrumental compositions (peşrevler, semaīler) and improvisations (taksimler) that frame a choral composition (the ayin proper), a large work that is divided into four sections (selamlar) . Beginning with a sung eulogy in praise of Mevlana (naʿt-i şerif) , the genre