Like other village of Vigan, Bongtolan was not given any official name not until the Spaniards had established their government machinery in Ilocandia under the leadership of the “Hernando Cortez” of the Philippines, Capitan Juan de Salcedo.

It was summer time when the Spaniards Civil busied them patrolling the suburbs of Salcedo’s captain town that they came upon a village which was quite opposed to Spanish occupation. The villagers were angered at the behavior of the Civil Guards because of oftentimes they commandeered food item like fowls, eggs, vegetables and fruits. In order to show their displeasure over the bad acts of the Civil Guards, the natives of the place agreed to do something which would irritate the foreign intruders. So, one day, some of the young men of the place climbed the trees along the trails which led to the center of the village with dried earth balls (bingkol in Ilokano) in their hands. They drew down the earth balls on the heads of the Spanish soldiers as they passed by; injuring some of the unhelmeted ones. Many were arrested and tortured so that this show of arrogance on the party of the natives was cut down later. On this account and through the advice of the Ilocanos who were close to the Spanish authorities in Vigan, the village was name “’Uluan” as ha heads of the Spanish Civil Guards were the main targets of the villages in the earth ball-throwing incidents.

Kat-tukong nga Tabungao

Underside of Kat-tukong nga Tabungao

Most of the barangay inhabitants, at present, are owner-cultivators of lots. They became popular through their household industries while squash hat-making (kat-tukong nga tabungao) and rubber sandal-making (palloka) industries. The rubber sandals are made form unserviceable rubber tires of motor vehicles. A certain percentage of the barangay populations are government and private employees.

Lampshade nga Tabungao