The ltzaes, a brave and peaceful group of Maya have been in these lands since time immemorial.

They were led by a priest named Zamna, and while they were resting after their arduous journey, he recalled the words spoken to him by the queen of Atlantis: “Our land will disappear within one moon. Since you are the wisest and best of my people, I have chosen you as a guide and messenger of my commands.”

“Choose a group of families and three chilames. You shall go to a place which I will show you, and there you will find a city. You will build a high temple and beneath it, you will keep the texts that recount our history, and those that will be written in the future.”

“You and the chosen ones shall sail to the west in nine ships. After nine days you will find an uninhabited land with rivers and mountains, and there you will enter. You will wait until you find water, and there you shall find the city as I have commanded you”.

On the second day of sailing, after they had set off, a storm sank two of two boats. Zamna thought that the end had come for the group,
but the storm waned.

Finally, they came to the uninhabited land of rivers and mountains foretold by the queen, but there was no water: the land was dry, and covered in a strange plant, very green, with hard, sharp, pointed leaves.

Suddenly the sky became dark and heavy rain began to fall. The travellers were happy to receive this water from heaven, but they did not know how long it would last, so Zamna arranged for some
of it to be stored.

As he passed by one of the strange plants, a torn spear his foot. When the Itzaes saw this, they punished the plant by cutting off the leaf and beating it violently against the stones of the place.

However, Zamna noticed that the leaves produced a tough fibre that could be useful for the people. He realized that his wound had been a sign, and ordered them to stop punishing the plant.

Meanwhile, the rain continued, and the water flowed through a gap in the rocks. Zamna followed the stream and discovered the place
indicated by the queen.

So, then the priest joined the vitality of the water, the power of heaven, the essence of the chosen ones, and the strength of the plant – which he named henequen – and he founded the great city we now known as Izamal. (Photo:123rf.com)

(Mayan Legend)