Inca Princess

This article is about a subject whose real name is unknown, being identified only by a title, nickname, or alias.

Inca Princess
Aliases	Ampata Gutierrez
Status	Deceased
Died	15th century (mummified) 1997
Classif.	Mummy
Appearances
Appeared in	"Inca Mummy Girl"
Portrayed by	Ara Celi

“She was offered as a sacrifice and went to her death. Who knows what she gave up to fulfill her duty to others. What chance of love?”

―"Ampata"

The Inca Mummy, who assumed the name of Ampata Gutierrez, was an undead Incan princess who was accidentally released.

Biography

The Inca Mummy

Mummification

This girl lived in eastern Peru where she was made a princess by the Incan people at the age of sixteen before being later made into a sacrifice for the mountain god, Sebancaya. She was mummified with a magical seal that made sure that she would not awaken. She eventually became part of an Incan mummy exhibit, touring places like Boston, Atlanta and New York. She apparently retained awareness of this in her mummified state. 

Reawakened

Five hundred years after her death, on tour to the Sunnydale Museum, she was accidentally awoken by a Sunnydale High student, Rodney Munson, when he damaged the sacred seal keeping her 'asleep'. She was able to stay alive by sucking the life out of others, and firstly did so to Rodney, giving her more mobility and leaving his mummified corpse in her tomb to take her place. After this, a mystical Incan guardian was summoned to assassinate her.

The Inca Mummy as Ampata

In an attempt to recapture her stolen life, she attacked, killed, and assumed the identity of Ampata Gutierrez, the foreign exchange student whom Buffy Summers and her mother were to host. This restored her body in its full, youthful form. She and Xander Harris instantly hit it off. "Ampata" fell in love with him, since he was the first person she had met who treated her like a girl rather than a princess. Although unaware of the Scooby Gang's true purpose and awareness of the supernatural, she learnt that they were examining the broken seal that had kept her contained. They asked if she could translate it but, instead of translating it, "Ampata" claimed that the seal should be destroyed and the assassin sent after her was a bodyguard. Drawing closer to Xander, "Ampata" agreed to be his date at the World Culture Dance at the Bronze. However, her need to suck the life from others made this problematic. Her restored body was unable to last longer than a few hours on its own after so many centuries. Being confronted by her assassin, "Ampata" refused to give herself up despite the fact she had to kill innocent people. She drained her assassin and proceeded to the dance, hoping that his mystical nature would help her last longer. Dancing with Xander, "Ampata" found it hard to resist kissing him as her body started to decompose. She tried to maintain herself by seducing Jonathan Levinson, but was interrupted when Xander came. Unable to hold any longer, the two kissed very briefly, leaving Xander somewhat burned out and not fully restoring her.

Final Death

File:Inca mummy ultimatum.jpg

The Inca Mummy tries to take Willow's life for her own

After Rupert Giles translated the seal and the body of the real Ampata had been discovered, he attempted to reconstruct it at the museum, but "Ampata" sensed his actions and found him in time to break the seal even further. Buffy intervened, her physical prowess revealing her as the Slayer, but it was not enough to stop "Ampata" who managed to fight her off.

Her remains

She attempted to drain Willow Rosenberg. Xander intervened and informed her that she would have to drain him before he would let her near Willow, despite her desperate assurances that they could be together once she had dealt with Willow. "Ampata" then agreed to his ultimatum, but eventually could not drain him. As her deprivation caused her to revert back into her mummified state, Buffy pulled her off Xander, resulting in her losing her hands before her corpse fell to the floor and shattered to pieces.

Powers and Abilities

The mummy fed on the life force of living humans to regenerate her own body temporarily

“Here. It explains that mummies kill by feeding of the life force of a person. Effectively freeze-drying them, you might say.”

―Rupert Giles

Life force absorption: Through lip contact, the Inca Princess would drain the life-force of other humans, temporarily recuperating her youthful appearance while the victim was killed and left in a mummified state. This process was involuntary, as "Ampata" required willpower to kiss Xander without killing him and even so she drained some of his life-force, leaving him briefly dazed (although it is unclear if she would have found it easier to resist if she had kissed Xander shortly after a previous feed).

Enhanced strength and fighting skills: The Inca Princess possessed exceptional fighting skills and strength. She was strong enough to overpower her assassin (a large man), knock Giles unconscious by squeezing his neck and even Xander struggled to pull her off in her decomposed state. She also bested Buffy in a fight by avoiding her attacks and resisting some of her blows. 

Gallery

Behind the Scenes

• She was portrayed by Ara Celi.

• Ampata was based on the Inca Ice Maiden, a mummy discovered in 1995 on Mount Ampato, located in Arequipa, a region in southwestern Peru.

• Her story is similar to that of Buffy, in that both girls were "destined" to protect their people and die because of it. Buffy herself reflected on the similarities between them.

• The fact that Xander was attracted to her (like the She-Mantis) would become a recurring joke in the series ("Anne", "Something Blue" and "First Date").

• She is, with Kathy Newman, one of the rare enemies to have shared the same bedroom with Buffy.

Appearances

• "Inca Mummy Girl"
• "Anne" (Only mentioned)
• "Something Blue" (Only mentioned)