The job of Inca roadrunner was a specialized profession in the Inca Empire. 

Young men studied how to be an Incan roadrunner. Incan roadrunners carried orders and news from one end of the entire to the other. They were the mailmen of the Incan Empire. Messages always reached the Sapa Inca accurately. If it was discovered that a message was not accurate, punishment was severe.

Each runner would run like the wind for a short distance along the famous Inca roads. As he approached the next relay station, the runner blew loudly on a conch shell to alert the next runner to get ready. The next runner would appear, running along side him. Without stopping, the first runner told the second runner the message. The second runner speeded ahead until he reached the next relay station.

When messages were secret, runners carried the message in the form of a quipu - a series of knots and colored string. The quipu would be handed from runner to runner until it reached its destination. There, a special quipu reader would decipher the message.

This relay system was so effective that runners could messages at a rate of about 250 miles a day. Without these specially trained Incan mailmen, controlling the vast Inca Empire would have been next to impossible.

The runners did not have guards. They did not carry weapons with which to defend themselves. They ran alone. They ran like the wind. The job of relay roadrunner carried great honor.

Inca Roads

Incas for Kids