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258 BENEDICT VADAKKEKARA like sermon compilations, confessional manuals and catechisms, ethnographic data, grammars, dictionaries etc. figure in the collections. Among the various manuscripts those of the Observant friar Bernardino de Sahagun, the great connoisseur of the Nahua way of life, hold the pride of place. "Because of Sahagun's standing among scholars of the Nahua world, his manuscripts must rank among the prizes of the collection. Within Sahagun's conception of his overall obra, the well-known Historia general and Florentine Co– dex, were to be merely one part of the general undertaking. Matching them in importance were his linguistic and doctrinal efforts. Representative of the for– mer was a trilingual dictionary of Nahuatl, Spanish, and Latin, and an 'Arte de la lengua,' a grammatical study of Nahuatl. The Postilla was to be his contribu– tion in the missionary realm"(3). The nature of the compilations of the evange– lisers was very much determined by the exigencies before them. They needed to be as well-versed as possible in the native languages and be cognizant of the mores and the mindset of the people in order to correct them. And in the ulti– mate analysis, these were nothing but the prerequisites for effectively carrying through their primary task of implanting the Gospel into the native mind and heart. The names of eminent friars like Francisco Antonio de la Rosa y Figue– roa, Alonso de Molina, Andres de Olmos, Geronimo de Mendieta, Miguel de Navarro, Agustin de Vetancurt etc are directly linked with these Nahuatl pa– pers. There are also among the collections notarial deeds and other legal docu– ments, pieces of poetry, and performing arts. The book offers a number of useful tips for researchers of Nauatl, the Az– tec language. Regarding the Nahuatl holdings at the Manuscripts Division of the Library of Congress (Washington D.C.), the author observes: "In many ways, the Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division, is one of the most diffi– cult places to work, because of the sheer size of the holdings. Over the past few decades the library has changed the internal organization of the collections, thus making it difficult to track down individual items. Likewise, it is difficult to know for certain that all possible Nahuatl materials have been identified" (47). It does indeed credit to The Academy of American Franciscan History (Berkeley) that it too plays its part in preserving the Mesoamerican heritage. The Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley and the Washington Theologi– cal Union in Washington D.C. together house its collections. Among the Acad– emy's collections is the Nahuatl "manuscript version of Fr. Agustin de Vetan– curt's Para saber andar las estaciones de la Via Sacra" (52). References to other col– lections, bibliographies and the critical evaluation of the position of other scholars and the historical background of the documents are indeed significant.