1. This type of glyph perhaps originates from the image of a shepherd's staff. But it may be that it is intended to show an adze (toki).

"A Maori saying: he iti toki, e rite ana ki te tangata = though the adze be small, yet does it equal a man."  (Starzecka)

It is a male attibute, and a chief must carry a big 'stick':

"The Araukan Indians in the coastal area of northern Chile, have customs similar to those on the Marquesas and in both areas toki means adze according to José Imbelloni. The Araukans also called their chief of war toki and the ceremonial adze symbolized his function and was exhibited at the outbreak of war. In Polynesia Toki was the name of a chief elevated by the Gods and his sign was the blade of a toki." (Fraser) [Or was it a henua sign?]

"... A depiction of an adze was also used as a hieroglyph, representing the consonants stp, 'chosen' ... Pharaoh XX, chosen of God/Goddess YY..." (Wikipedia)

A big stick ought to be represented in the rongorongo texts as a big toki sign, if we can rely on Metoro's identification of this glyph type as a picture of an adze: