AN archivist recently discoursed on the centuries-old collection of the Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomás (AUST).
Professor Regalado Trota José’s lecture, “What did the Dominicans hoard in the Archives of the University of Santo Tomas for 400 years,” commenced the nine-day webinar series on history and heritage: “BARCADA: The Legacy of the Order of Preachers in the Philippine Church.”
In his lecture, Prof. José emphasized that the “‘Archivo…’ was a major resource for the heritage of the Philippines—not just for the Church, but the entire history of the country.”
Up to now, the museum maintains its full classic name primarily because most of its collection of old tomes and various incunabula—books published around the 15th Century—are written in Spanish.
Presently located on the fifth floor of the University of Santo Tomas’ Miguel de Benavides Library, the “Archivo” is the official repository of original documents and records relevant to UST since its establishment. Included in the collection is the UST Foundation Act, dated April 28, 1611. On the same date in 2021, UST commemorated its 410th anniversary.
José also showed the participants “the only tangible souvenir” of UST’s founder, Archbishop Miguel de Benavides, OP: a document with his signature from a prior post, when he was still the bishop of Nueva Segovia in 1598.
Among the many gems of the AUST collection showcased were the baybayin documents, declared by the National Museum as a “national cultural treasure” in 2014; the handwritten Libro de Piques for Philosophy on the works of Aristotle bearing the oldest seal of UST, dated 1636; and the Libro de Piques for Theology on the sentences of Peter Lombard, from 1564. A libro is an examination book containing certain passages or ideas candidates must explain or defend to earn a tertiary degree.
The AUST also houses one of only three surviving copies in the world of a catechism book for Japanese Catholics by Juan Rueda de los Angeles, OP. Printed by Tomas Pinpin in 1623, it offers the earliest depictions of the mysteries of the rosary in the Philippines,and a manual for confessions from a handwritten summary of the Manila Synod of 1582. It is also a repository of the Dictionario Hispanico Sinicum: the largest and earliest Spanish-Chinese dictionary written during the Spanish occupation of Taiwan from 1624 to 1642.
José is the first lay archivist of the Archivo. He also shared some of the preservation procedures observed by AUST:
“First, we have to know the collection and go through the materials, [then find out which are the most fragile ones. From the examples…], we have them in acid-free boxes,” the professor explained. “We maintain a constant temperature in the vault. We also minimize the humidity.”
He continued: “It is a continuous process of monitoring the collection to ensure that the proper coolness and humidity levels are observed, so…molds will not grow.”
A specialist on Philippine sacred art, architecture and history, José is a former commissioner for cultural heritage of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts prior to his stint in UST. He received the National Research Council of the Philippines Achievement Award for Research in Philippine Art History in 2010.
Earlier this year, José published his book Simbahán: An Illustrated Guide to 50 of the Philippines’ Must-Visit Catholic Churches, two decades after his National Book Award winner Simbahán: Church Art in Colonial Philippines, 1565-1898.
“BARCADA: The Legacy of the Order of Preachers in the Philippine Church” was organized by the Dominican Studentate in Quezon City, in collaboration with the UST Graduate School Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics. The series brought together various resource persons who lectured on a variety of topics: from priceless archival materials and built heritages, to histories and intangible expressions.
The term “barcada” refers to the chronicles of the arrival of the first Dominicans in the country on July 22, 1587. The historian wrote that “this [was] the arrival of the first barcada, [as] the missionaries were on a barca [boat]. The word barkada later came to the Filipino language to mean ‘a group of close friends.’”
Originally broadcast from March 8 to 16, the lectures from the webinar series may be viewed for free through BARCADA’s Facebook page, accessible through https://www.facebook.com/Barcada1587/.