I'itoi, the Man in the Maze - Flag

I'itoi (or I'ithi) is, in the cosmology of the O'odham peoples of Arizona, the creator and God who resides in a cave below the peak of Baboquivari Mountain, a sacred place within the territory of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

O'odham oral history describes I'itoi bringing Hohokam people to this earth from the underworld. Hohokam are ancestors of both the Tohono O'odham (Desert People) and the Akimel O'odham (River People). He is also responsible for the gift of the Himdag, a series of commandments guiding people to remain in balance with the world and interact with it as intended.

I'itoi is most often depicted as the Man in the Maze, a design appearing on O'odham basketry and petroglyphs. This positions him at the entry to a labyrinth. This labyrinth is believed by the Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham to be the maze of life, where a person travels through life and encounters the different moments that impact them.

According to O'odham oral history, the labyrinth design depicts experiences and choices individuals make in the journey through life. In the middle of the "maze", a person finds their dreams and goals. When one reaches the center, the individual has a final opportunity (the last turn in the design) to look back upon choices made and the path taken, before the Sun God greets us, blesses us and passes us into the next world.