It is said that the first inhabitants of the Barangay were soft-spoken and all of them were very humble. BRIEF HISTORY OF BARANGAY CAUNAYAN
The town of Batac was founded by the Augustinians in 1587 under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. It is the second eldest town established by the Augustinians in the Province of Ilocos Norte. Batac was officially organized into a ministry on Jan. 5,
1986. The first priest assigned to catechize the natives of the community was Fr. Esteban Martin, an Augustinian who probably arrived in Batac in 1585. Paoay and Dinglas (Dingras) were then the visitas of Batac. Folk history claims that there were 2 villages in Batac during the early part of the foundation of the town, one was an Itneg community which occupied Sitio Nangalisan and a Christian community occupying San Jose. The first site of the Poblacion was in San Jose, which is now Pal-palicong. It is said that the ethnic minority groups of Bangui and Nueva Era are the pre-Spanish descendants of early inhabitants on Batac. The Augustinians considered the people of Batac more civilized than the other tribes, because they were better than the other "Indios" in personal cleanliness. As the economy was improving, Barrios were created and established. One of them is the Barrio Caunayan. Caunayan is derived from the word "UNAY" which means soft, modulated, or slow. It is said that the first inhabitants of the Barangay were soft-spoken and very humble. Barangay Caunayan is one of the urban Barangays of the City of Batac, Ilocos Norte. It is bounded on the north by Barangay San Julian, on the south by Barangay Acosta, on the east by Barangay Lacub, and on the south by Barangay Quiling Sur. It has an appoximated land area of 38.90 hectares. The Patronal Fiesta/Foundation Days of Barangay Caunayan is every first week of December.
