Making space along the Kemi River: a fluvial geography in Finnish Lapland

Abstract

This article illustrates how the main direction of water flow along the Kemi River has entered into the understanding of space in central Finnish Lapland, evident in expressions used for orientation, as well as in place and family names. The article demonstrates how fluvial space-making resonates with the riverbank inhabitants’ engagement with and stories about the river’s flows, especially in fishing, travel and transport. It also shows how a north–south imaginary corresponds with fluvial space on the Kemi. I propose the term ‘fluvitory’ to shift attention from territory to water flows in understanding space-making and argue that moving water must be acknowledged as an active participant in the stories that make space.