Mohammad Hanif acquired a reputation as a pagan magician, according to Somali folklore, he was defeated by Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn.

[8] According to this myth, the rest of the Somali society has ever since paid a small gift to a Yibir after childbirth, as a form of blood compensation.

[7][12] The foundational for the Yibir involves one Shaykh Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn, also known as Aw Barkhadle (Blessed Father), associated as one of those who brought Islam to Somalia from Arabia.

[6] The story goes that when Barkhadle first arrived in the northern Somali region, he was confronted by pagan Mohamed Hanif (also pejoratively known as Bu'ur Ba'ayer).

Barkhadle challenged Hanif to traverse a small hill near Dogor,[13] an area situated some 20 miles north of the regional capital of Hargeisa.

[6] Hanif's descendants, goes the legend, subsequently demanded blood money or diyya from Barkhadle for the death of their leader and in perpetuity.

[15] This myth underlies the Somali practice of offering gifts to Yibir who come to give amulets and bless newborn children and newlywed couples.

[18] In 1921, Major H. Rayne, a district-commissioner in British Somaliland, also recounts the story, using it as a preface to an anecdote about a Somali who had just become a father and asked him for money to pay a passing Yibir.

[6] Hanfili the spouse of Hanif is stated to have her mausoleum in the city of Harar which receives frequent visitors, talismans are made from the tree near the grave.

According to his sources, the difference is necessary to maintain a secrecy and keep the ruling class from total dominance of the subservient clans: Each tribe has its own dialect, which has hitherto been kept as a solemn secret from the rest of the world.

[38] In more recent times, the linguist Roger Blench, referencing Kirk, has similarly indicated that the Yibir and Madhiban dialects both "differ substantially in lexicon from standard Somali".

[42] In east African ethnic groups, such as the Oromo people, cognates to Somali castes have been recorded in 16th century texts, states Cornelius Jaenen.