The "khān" referred to the Yusufzai landowners. In the 16th century, saint Sheikh Mali, a prominent Yusufzai dignitary, distributed the Yusufzai land among the major Yusufzai tribal clans ("khēl"). However, to avoid inequalities, he ordered that the lands should not become permanent property of the clans, but rather they should be realloted within the patrilineal clans periodically after every ten years or so. In this system ("wēsh"), each landowning "khān" would own shares ("brakha") representing his proportion of the total area distributed. Through a regular rotation of ownership, the Yusufzai landowners would migrate for up to 30 miles for their new share after each cycle, although the tenants cultivating the land would stay on.