Quipu
A quipu (Classical Wechua: khipu, "knot"; also quipo) is a recording device consisting of knotted strings used by the Wechua people to encode administrative, historical, and religious information in Classical Wechua. Quipu consist of a primary cord from which pendant cords of varying colors, lengths, and materials hang, with knots tied at specific intervals to represent numerical values, phonetic elements, or categorical data. The system originated in pre-Atteran Wechua civilization centered on Mount Lacara, where quipu recorded census data, tribute obligations, land boundaries, genealogies, and religious calendars. The Atteran Empire destroyed many quipu during its conquest of Wechua lands, viewing the records as potential instruments of resistance, but temple communities and noble families preserved significant collections in secret. Today, surviving ancient quipu and the knowledge to interpret them constitute an important element of Wechua cultural heritage.
Quipu retain legal force in Nouvelle Alexandrie for certain categories of documentation predating the federation's establishment in 1685 AN. The High Court of Justice ruled in Ayllu Qollana v. Regional Ministry of Lands (1703 AN) that quipu records constitute admissible evidence when authenticated by certified quipucamayoc. An estimated 340,000 hectares of ancestral land (waki allpa) in the Wechua Nation remain governed by quipu documentation, along with numerous noble succession claims and religious endowments belonging to the Faith of Inti. The Royal Academy of the Wechua Language maintains the largest scholarly collection of quipu, while the Tribunal of Traditional Claims adjudicates disputes requiring quipu interpretation. Debates continue over proposals to convert remaining quipu records to modern documentation, with defenders arguing that such conversion would compromise the cultural and sacred character of the originals.
