koskeviksi

Koskeviksi is a fictional term used in speculative fiction to describe a ritualized form of tactile communication. In the imagined world, koskeviksi events occur when communities gather to share memory and emotion through deliberate touch of designated objects. The name blends the Finnish verb koskea, meaning to touch, with the fictive suffix -viksi, signaling a process or state.

In described practice, participants consent to a guided sequence of touches on kept objects or on fellow participants’ hands, guided by a facilitator. Objects act as memory vessels, carrying sensory traces that can be accessed by others through controlled touch. The ritual emphasizes consent, privacy, and safety, with rules about who may participate, how long touches last, and how memories are mediated or blocked.

Origins and usage: Koskeviksi has appeared in contemporary Finnish-language speculative fiction as a way to probe embodiment, consent, and collective memory. Writers use the concept to explore how communities negotiate access to intimate or painful memories and how social norms shape the sharing of sensory experiences.

Impact and reception: Critics have described koskeviksi as a thought experiment in ethics of touch and memory, as well as a literary device for examining cultural memory. Related topics include haptics, memory studies, and ritual practice.