This part of the ritual represents a "gift" of food to satiate the "frightening" tiger so it will not hurt anyone.
The pieces of paper were then burned together, ensuring that bad luck and the bad people went away with the fire.
After this, the goddesses had to be rewarded for their work and so another pack of papers containing fake money, silver and other goodies was burned. Finally rice was scattered and the ritual carried out twice more.
Cheung of City University said the witches do not have specific skills and that anyone could carry out the rituals with the right tools.
So why do business in the dark corners under an overpass? "It is seen as a dirty and dangerous place -- an ideal place for evil to hide," Cheung said.
But does it work?
"I don't know. But I always feel better afterwards," said housewife Chu.
Leung has been making a living doing this for 10 years, since her husband died.
However, there's one big drawback in her job: superstition says the longer she stays in the business, the more bad luck will fall on her.
"Life is hard," said the soft-spoken Leung. "A lot of my friends have told me not to continue with the job but I have no choice."
RSS