For my object at the National Museum of the American Indian, I selected a pair of Inka sandals that were found in the Cusco region of Peru and are believed to be from around 1450-1532. I was drawn to the sandals because of their both figurative and literal ties to migration. The sandals themselves epitomize movement, as people wore them to move from destination to destination, but they situate themselves more broadly in the greater historical context of the Great Inka Road.
The Great Inka Road, consisting of over 25,000 miles of paths and bridges across mountains and along the coast, embodied the immense power of the Inca Empire. In the Quechua language, the Road translated to “road of power”, and it traversed the western edge of South America from Peru to Chile. In building such a road, the Incas sought to create a link between the four distinct regions of the empire, and all roads led to the center of the empire at Cusco. The Great Inka Road was almost solely used for official state business, such as delivering messages and packages between regions. Because of its high efficiency and organization, it emphasized the Incas’ great political and economic structure with which the Incas were able to grow so powerful. And the Great Inka Road itself symbolized an engineering feat unparalleled elsewhere in the world. Constructed without assistance from iron tools, wheels, a writing system, and stock animals, it superseded copious challenges in its construction.
Some key figures involved included chaskis, short-distance relay runners who actually wore the sandals. These Inca messengers delivered oral messages and physical packages across the Inca Empire in a supposed relay race. One chaski would run five to ten miles at a time at top speed until he reached the second chaski who would likewise sprint to the next chaski pit stop. They would pass on oral messages, packages, or khipus (rope record-keeping systems). With this system, important information or items could travel up to 200 miles a day and travel from Cusco to Quito within a week. The immense efficiency of this system again proved how extraordinary and organized Inca communication was. The chaskis enabled the Empire to function smoothly, provided that the chaskis memorized the messages correctly.
Chaskis truly did wear the sandals that I saw in the National Museum of the American Indian. They were lightweight and functional enough to allow the chaskis to run at their top speeds, but they often deteriorated after only ten miles because of their flimsy material. These sandals were made out of plant fiber, specifically from yucca, agave, or even cotton. Nevertheless, these sandals were vital to the chaskis’ success. A popular Inca folktale recounts the story of a chaski who was relentlessly late to his chaski pit stops. He prayed to the sun god for help, and the sun god gave him a pair of sandals. From that point on, the chaski was never late again.
This object connects to our discussion of migration and identity on many levels. First, the sandals symbolize literal movement as the chaskis strapped them on to help propel them across the Inca empire. They therefore also symbolize the importance of migration to Inca society. In constructing a something so organized as the Great Inka Road, the Inca emphasized the significance of connectedness in their world. In order for the Empire to possess its immense power, individuals had to “migrate” from region to region to disseminate information and certify that the Empire was functioning efficiently. The success of the Inca empire thus boils down to this humble pair of sandals; the sandals helped the chaskis complete their missions, the chaskis helped the ruler to spread important information, and this information helped to create the organization and productivity that characterized both the power and identity of the Inca Empire.
— Ahbi Ruparelia and Nora Geer