What’s a Quipu?
Any guesses?
Some sort of textile equivalent of a grass skirt? An ancient example of a fidget toy?
It’s actually pretty practical.
Quipu: an ancient Incan data recording device consisting of variously colored ropes
knotted in different patterns
But what if . . . the data it stored was a secret message? I looked at this picture and saw a perfect tool for spies. I’m editing the first book in The Prophet Chronicles, and this device will be on the pages. This quipu (KEE-POO) doesn’t just keep a record of crop yields or tax payments. Hurgalan spies carry top-secret information embedded in the quipu’s knots from Ariel, the capital of Jebulahn, back to Hurgala’s king.
Book One of The Prophet Chronicles, The Marble Princess, coming in 2026!
Want a sneak peek of the world of Jebulahn and Hurgala? Sign up for my newsletter and check out the prequel short story, The Princess and the Gardener!
2 Comments
Brock Meier
Carolyn—what an interesting use of the quipu device in your story! In my own novel set in 1st century Petra (The Stone Cutter) I used the quipu as a means of tracking inventory for a man who traded in semi-precious stone. I love the idea of using it for the transmission of secret coded messages by spies!
Carolyn E. Jacobs
How fun! I’m going to check out your book!