Cursed seal

The Inca Sacred Seal is a magic object (as a plate) from Peru and created (probably in the twelfth century) by the Inca priests to prevent the princesses of their people, sacrificed during their rite to the god Sebancaya, from waking up from their death as in the case of "Ampatha Gutierrez". Guide: Five hundred years ago, the Incan people chose a beautiful teenage girl to become their princess. Willow: I hope this story ends with, 'And she lived happily ever after.' Xander: (looks into the coffin) No, I think it ends with, 'And she became a scary, discolored, shriveled mummy.' Guide: The Incan people sacrificed their princess to the mountain god Sebancaya, an offering buried alive for eternity in this dark tomb. Willow: They could've at least wrapped her in those nice white bandages, like in the movies? Guide: The princess remained there protected only by a cursed seal placed there (points to the plate in the mummy's hands) as a warning to any who would wake her. Centuries later, in 1997, the mummy as well as the Inca Sacred Seal are in exibition to the Museum of Sunnydale. The Inca Sacred Seal draws the attention of Rodney Munson, a hooligan of the high school, who tries to fly but break it accidentally, provoking the awakening of the mummy which inhales its vital forces

Certain fragments of the plate will be found by Giles when he investigates into the disappearance of the mummy. But he is sad in deciphered all the inscription on the artefact. The mummy kills then Ampatha Gutierrez, a young Peruvian come make a school exchange and steals its identity, settling down at Buffy and flirting with Xander.

When Giles asks of the assistant the young Peruvian to decipher the plate, she gives him false information. Ampata: Hmm. It is very old and valuable. (to Giles, holding the seal out to him) You should hide it! Giles: Is, is, uh, anything you recognize here? Um, um, this, this, um... this ch-chap here with the knife, for instance? Ampata: Well, I-I do not know exactly, but... I-I-I think this represents, I believe the word is... 'bodyguard'? Giles: (takes the seal) Bodyguard? Interesting. Ampata: Legend has it that he guards the mummy against those who would disturb her. Giles: Well, uh, yes, well, that's, um, that's a very good starting point for our, um... club. (looks at Buffy) Um...

A moment later, Ampatha kills the "bodyguard" (the Peruvian man) in question, which was responsible for bringing in his sleep.It is clarified that it is not responsible for its protection, but its monitoring, as conscious of its needs for life force.

Later in the same episode, when Buffy and Giles realizes that Ampatha is not that she claims to be, this last one goes surrenders to the Museum to try to reunite quite the pieces of the plate. Ampatha (which has a psychic link, at a certain distance, with the Sacred Seal) the attack and breaks definitively the object, what will not prevent him from dying definitively by decomposing in the arms of Xander.

It is possible that the Sacred Seal also served as alarm to warn the guardian of the mummy if this last one came to wake up, as it is the case with the Peruvian man (in the episode, we do not know how he was warne of the awakening).