I have suggested that rima vae ('no fire') is the central sign of nuku. This idea finds support in the following glyphs:

Tagata at left in Qa3-3 has a pau foot, and in front there are 5 'feathers'. Then follows 4 pairs of glyphs ending with a final tagata holding a fist with a 'wilting' maro string. 3 * 4 (in Qa3-4) and 3 * 12 (in Qa3-12) refer to the sun (12 respectively 36).

The 'fists' evolve into arms and hands with 3 fingers and a thumb. In the 4th quarter, though, the fist has disappeared and instead there are 2 mata riding in a canoe of the moon. The thumb went away together with the fist. From a state of 'full hand' (a fist) the fingers are released one at a time until only the empty hand remains. This happens thrice: