(pilgrimage to Mecca) as something that enjoys social prestige. On the other hand, there is also a movement led by the minority Sundanese conservative traditionalist adat, the Sunda Wiwitan community, who are struggling to achieve wider acceptance and recognition of their faith and way of life. Culture Family and social relations Sundanese culture is similar to that of Javanese culture. However, it differs by a much less rigid system of social hierarchy. The Sundanese, in their mentality and behaviour, their greater egalitarianism and antipathy to yawning class distinctions, and their community-based material culture, differ from the feudal hierarchy apparent among the people of Javanese principalities. Central Javanese court culture nurtured in an atmosphere conducive to elite, stylised, impeccably-polished forms of art and literature. In a pure sense, Sundanese culture bore few traces of these traditions. Culturally, the Sundanese people adopt a bilateral kinship system, with male and female descent of equal importance. In Sundanese families, the important rituals revolved around life cycles, from birth to death, adopting many of the previous Animist and Hindu-Buddhist, as well as Islamic traditions. For example, during the seventh month of pregnancy, there is a prenatal ritual called Nujuh Bulanan (identical to Naloni Mitoni in Javanese tradition) which traces its origins to Hindu ritual. Shortly after the birth of a baby, a ritual called Akekahan (from Arabic word: Aqiqah) is performed; an Islamic tradition in which the parents slaughter a goat for a baby girl or two goats for a baby boy, the meat later being cooked and distributed to relatives and neighbours. The circumcision ceremony is performed on pre-pubescent boys and celebrated with Sisingaan (lion) dance. The wedding ceremony is the highlight of Sundanese family celebration involving complex rituals from naroskeun and neundeun omong (marriage proposal and agreement conducted by parents and family elders), siraman (bridal shower), seserahan (presenting wedding gifts for the bride), akad nikah (wedding vows), saweran (throwing coins, mixed with flower petals and sometimes also candies, for the unmarried guests to collect and believed to bring better luck in romance), huap lingkung (bride and groom feed each other by the hand, with arms entwined to symbolize love and affection), bakakak hayam (bride and groom ripping a grilled chicken through holding each of its legs; a traditional way to determine which one will dominate the family which is the one that gets the larger or head part), and the wedding feast inviting