El Varon de Rabinal

Pic.: A Maya carved jade plaque from Nebaj in Guatemala depicts a Maya king with a headdress sitting on a throne and paying attention to a little person to the left of the scene, who is shown with crossed arms, the sign of greeting and respect. The plaque dates from the Late Classic period, c. CE 600-800.

I am reading Rabinal Achi, a song and dance drama about a historical feud between the Rabinal and the Qiche peoples.  El Varon de Quiche destroys Rabinal villages and tries to kidnap their children. After being caught by the Varon of Rabinal, he is judged, asks for a drink and a woman, and then submits to be sacrificed. Justice is done and the conflict is solved. Amazingly for a pre-modern story, it is totally secular, and no god or spirit is mentioned. 

P.S.: It is not amazing. The Spanish conquest destroyed all pre-Christian religious objects. Cardinal Landa, the first Inquisitor of Maya Lands, persecuted and killed many shamans and unbelievers. The Rabinal Achi song and dance presentation was kept secret by the Mayas for two hundred years till the French religious Brasseur arrived and paid for the necessary feathers dresses and masks.