From the seat of government in Cusco, the Inca managed a vast territory stretching over 770,000 square miles. Controlling this expanse of territory and the 12 million inhabitants within demanded consistent communication, yet South America boasted no horses for rapid transit and a mountainous terrain that would have limited the usefulness of such animals anyway. Instead, the Inca developed an impressive network of roads and an innovative system of relay runners, chasquis, who could cover 1,250 miles in a week.
Qhapaq Ñan: The Legendary Inca Roads
Though its center was in Cusco and many of its remaining marvels are found in Peru today, the Inca Empire extended far beyond the modern-day borders of the country. Tawantinsuyu, “realm of the four parts,” the Quechua word for this land, was the largest empire in the pre-Columbian Americas. The Inca began to expand beyond Cusco in the 13th century and would ultimately build an empire that spanned from present-day southwestern Colombia to just beyond Santiago, Chile, and from the Pacific coast eastward into what are today parts of Bolivia and Argentina.
To interconnect this vast kingdom, the Inca built a road network covering over 18,000 miles called the Qhapaq Ñan, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It consisted of two long main roads, one running along the coast and the other from north to south through the Andes, with many branches. The system is a testament to the organization and architectural mastery of the Inca, who were able to build roads, many of which remain today, through varying terrain, including coastal lands, jungles, and mountains. Scholars believe this extensive system of roadways, linking all parts of the empire, enabled the Inca to successfully administer their vast territory, using the roads for cultural exchange, trade, and mobilization. But the Inca had another trick up their sleeve that relied on these roads: a masterful means of maintaining rapid and efficient communication.
Who Were the Chasquis?
Chasquis (or chaskis), from the Quechua language meaning “one who gives and receives,” were selected for their essential role as official messengers in their youth. Always boys, they were chosen from among the empire’s fastest and fittest. Spanish chronicler Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala also claimed that they were the sons of local leaders, curacas, to ensure loyalty; while this would make sense, given their responsibility in carrying potentially secret information, this claim is not made by other chroniclers.
While speed was essential for this position, given the varied landscapes they would have to traverse, only being a fast runner was not enough. Those selected to be chasquis also had to be both strong and agile enough to climb through the mountainous terrain and have great endurance to maintain a steady pace over several miles of sometimes rugged terrain, as well as strong lungs to adapt to the higher altitudes. Beyond their physical abilities, they must have excellent memories—for both the messages they would deliver and the routes they would take. Chasquis began training at a very young age. Martín de Murua’s account of the chasquis claimed that as part of this preparation, they were fed very little to ensure they remained thin and light on their feet.
Chasquis were government employees, as it were. The Inca Empire did not use currency; its inhabitants were expected to provide tribute and labor to the government, called mita, in exchange for the services the government provided. The chasquis’ service was their mita, and in return, chroniclers note that they were fed from the governments’ stores, and their families were protected while they were on duty. They were also permitted to chew coca leaves to aid their work, a practice usually reserved for the empire’s nobility and religious ceremonies. Should a chasqui become lazy and fail to fulfill his duty, the punishment was severe: he would be beaten and his legs broken, as a reminder and warning to others.
Relay: How the Chasqui System Worked
Given the expanse of the Inca Empire, sending a single messenger on a lengthy trek made little sense. It would take weeks for a single runner to carry a message the 1,000+ miles from Cusco to one of the other major government centers, like Tomebamba in present-day Ecuador. Instead, the Inca created a relay system to swiftly move messages and small packages through the empire. Who created the system is unknown, with the Spanish chroniclers each claiming a different Sapa Inca was responsible.
Along the many miles of roads, the Inca built relay stations, chaskiwasi, at regular intervals—most chroniclers put the distance at about 1.5 miles, depending on the terrain (some chroniclers appear to have conflated the chaskiwasi and tambos, larger shelters built further apart along the same roads that also had storehouses and could be used by chasquis as well as other travelers). A number of chasquis would operate each station and be ready to run day or night. These stations were built in an elevated position so the runners on duty could see incoming messengers as well as smoke signals, which were sometimes used to send alerts from other stations. Garcilaso de la Vega described the chasquis in his history chronicle, Comentarios Reales de los Incas, as carrying shell trumpets (pututu) to announce their arrival so the next runner would be ready to go. Other aspects of their dress noted by various chroniclers included white feather headdresses, sandals, a sling, a club, and a small bag.
When a runner arrived, the next chasqui in line would join him on the road, and they would run together for a period while information was exchanged. If there was a verbal message to be relayed, it was repeated several times to ensure nothing was lost in the message before the next runner moved on. Longer messages might come in the form of quipus, the Inca’s unique knotted cord “writing” system. These did not have to be read by the chasquis—that was the job of specially trained quipucamayoc—simply delivered to the correct person. There are even tales of the relay system being used to transport live marine animals when the Sapa Inca was in the mood to dine on seafood.
Because these messages were vital to the functioning of the empire and often contained privileged information, the loyalty of the chasquis was essential. Revealing the contents of a message, impeding a fellow chasqui, or delivering a false message was punishable by death.
Invasion: Chasquis and the Spanish Conquest
Since all of the recorded history of the chasquis comes from the Spanish chronicles, it’s clear the system was still functioning when the Spanish began their conquest of South America and that it was also so remarkable as to merit the attention of these early historians. It stands to reason that something as pedestrian as mail delivery would have to be noteworthy to make the history books, and indeed all of the most well-known accounts of the period describe the chasqui system in detail, expressing amazement over its efficiency and the distance these runners could cover in short periods of time.
It seems logical that the Spanish would also want to take advantage of these relay couriers, but after the conquest, one key to the system, the Qhapaq Ñan, quickly fell into disrepair. Not only was the Inca maintenance system disrupted, but the most heavily used roads began crumbling under the weight of horses and carts, which they weren’t designed for.
Evidence suggests that the chasqui system also largely disappeared within a few decades of the colonizers’ arrival. Some records attest to it being revived and used to cover smaller regions in service to the new Spanish government, but noting that it was no longer as successful, perhaps due to the documented refusal of the Spanish governors to pay their chasquis as promised.
By the 17th century, Martín de Murua is recorded lamenting the good old days of the chasqui system, noting that the modern chasquis were expected to run longer distances, disrupting the efficiency of the original system. What is unclear from existing records is whether the Spanish purposefully upended the system only to regret it, the chasquis themselves allowed the system to die out as the roads so essential to their work crumbled and their new employers failed to pay them, or some combination of the two.
Legacy: Chasqui in the Modern Day
Respect for the honorable work of the ancient chasquis persists to the modern day. A quick Google search reveals a variety of commercial products named in their honor, everything from snack foods to yarn. A particularly popular use of chaski (or chasqui) has been for newspapers and journals delivering news and analysis related to Latin American history and politics. Another common modern usage is for running clubs, races, and other athletic endeavors that employ the chasquis’ ancient skills.
In parts of the Andes popular among tourists, hotels and hostels offering a cozy place to rest frequently use the name chaskiwasi. The chasquis have even escaped the bonds of Earth, thanks to the Peruvian Chasqui I nanosatellite deployed at the International Space Station in 2023. Though their service ended some 400 years ago, the Inca chasquis have never been forgotten.
