While assembled at the Ka'aba, Hashim and his brothers and all their allies dipped their hands in a bowl of rich perfume with nutmeg powder and swore that they would never abandon one another, rubbing their scented hands over the stone of the Ka'aba in confirmation of their pact. Hashim and his allies were thereafter known as the ""Hilf al-Mutayyabun"" ("Alliance of the Scented Ones"), while their rivals also swore an oath of union and organised themselves into the ""Hilf al-Ahlaf"" ("Alliance of the Confederates"). As neither side wanted a full-scale conflict, they reached a compromise whereby The Scented Ones retained control of the charity tax and the food and drink for pilgrims, where as the Confederates retained the keys to the Ka'aba and the running of the House of Assembly. Hashim's brothers agreed that he should have the responsibility of providing for the pilgrims. Their descendants in the clans named after them tended to keep this old alliance.