Itzamná is the great creator god of the Maya. In this legend, he made the Mayab — the most beautiful land in the world — and filled it with flowers, birds, cenotes of clear water, and deep caverns, as a gift for the Maya people, his chosen people.

It was also Itzamná who chose the three animals of the Mayab: the pheasant, the deer, and the rattlesnake.