Abstract: In consanguineal kinship terminology, Berber (Amazigh) displays a sharp divide between a patrilineal, Sudanese north and a bilineal, Iroquois south, provoking much speculation on original matrilineality. This divide extends to affines, where the patrilocal joint families of the north contrast with the flexible encampments of the south. Both systems show clear evidence of expansion and reconfiguration through internal coinages and borrowing; the well-known Arabic influence on northern Berber kinship is paralleled by previously unrecognized Songhay influence in southern Berber. Factoring out such innovations allows the reconstruction of a core inventory of Proto-Berber kinship terms most compatible with a generational (i.e., Hawaiian) kinship system.