What was the Inca postal runner called?

The Inca postal runner was called a chasqui.

Chasquis were specially trained runners who carried royal orders, military news, oral messages, small packages, and sometimes quipus—knotted-cord records—across the Inca Empire. Their work depended on the Qhapaq Ñan, the empire’s vast road network, rather than wheeled vehicles.

Runners operated in relays. Chaskiwasi stations were commonly placed roughly 2.5 kilometres apart, allowing each runner to hand over a message to a rested colleague. The system could reportedly transmit information as far as 300 kilometres in a day. A chasqui often announced an approach with a conch-shell trumpet called a pututu.

A common mix-up is confusing the runner with the message system itself: chasqui means the messenger, while quipu refers to a knotted record and tambo to a larger roadside lodging and supply station. The spelling chaski is also used, but “chasqui” is the standard English quiz answer.